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The head of a conservative Christian group whose reservation was cancelled at the last minute by a Virginia restaurant, citing their views on abortion and LGBTQ issues, has accused the owners of ‘religious discrimination.’
Virginia Cobb’s group, Family Foundation of Virginia, intended to dine on November 30 at Metzger Bar and Butchery in Richmond, Virginia – a German-themed restaurant co-owned by TV chef Brittanny Anderson of Top Chef and Chopped.
Yet 90 minutes before their reservation, a staff member called someone on Cobb’s team to say they were no longer welcome – forcing them to scramble to find an alternative venue for the 15-20 people to gather.
The restaurant said it was due to the group’s anti-abortion stance, and their rejection of gay marriage.
‘We were certainly shocked that this happened,’ said Cobb, speaking to Fox News on Wednesday.
Virginia Cobb, the head of the Family Foundation of Virginia, on Wednesday appeared on Fox News to discuss her organization being turned away from a restaurant in Richmond due to their faith-based policies
Brittanny Anderson co-owns the Virginia restaurant. Her establishment canceled the Christian organization’s booking because staff would be made ‘uncomfortable’ and ‘unsafe’ by their presence in the establishment
Metzger Bar and Butchery (pictured) in Richmond, Virginia canceled the Christian organization’s November 30 booking only 90 minutes before they were due to arrive
‘I think most people assume that food service is something that we can all agree on.
‘It’s stunning, and it does feel a bit like ‘no Christians can eat here.’ Because if you go to our website, you’ll find that we are a faith-based organization.
‘So it absolutely does feel that there is religious discrimination going on here.’
The restaurant said in an Instagram post that the staff objected to serving them, and the management did not want to put their employees in an environment where they felt ‘unsafe’.
Cobb said it was ultimately the managers who should be held accountable for discrimination.
‘The owner made the phone call; they put out an official statement; the bottom line is, the buck stop’s with the owners,’ she said.
‘Restaurants are not permitted to discriminate, even if the staff are discriminatory.
‘That’s not the right of a restaurant to simply say hey, we’re not going to let you eat here.’
In a blog post, Cobb likened her group’s experience of being refused service to eateries that refused to serve black customers before the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
She said: ‘Welcome to the double standard of the left.’
The German themed restaurant is co-owned by TV chef Brittanny Anderson who is known for her shows ‘Top Chef’ and ‘Chopped’. She is pictured cooking on ‘Top Chef’
The Family Group is a non-profit Christian organization based in Virginia that says it advocates for ‘policies based on Biblical principles’.
The faith-based organization has opposed LGBTQ+ rights and abortion rights.
Shortly after the incident, Metzger Bar and Butchery released a statement on their Instagram page explaining that their staff would be made ‘uncomfortable’ and ‘unsafe’ by the group’s presence.
‘Metzger Bar and Butchery has always prided itself on being an inclusive environment for people to dine in,’ they said.
The establishment said they discovered that the Family Foundation was ‘a group of donors to a political organization that seeks to deprive women and LGBTQ+ persons of their basic human rights in Virginia.’
They added that many of their staff are ‘women and/or members of the LGBTQ+ community.
‘All of our staff are people with rights who deserve dignity and a safe work environment.’
Metzger Bar and Butchery has used the recent interest in the restaurant and the incident to raise money for a Virginia LGBTQ+ charity.
Posting an image of a cocktail named ‘cracks in the foundation’, they said: ‘We are so grateful to our many guests and neighbors for their support the past few days! To say thank you we are donating all proceeds from this cocktail to @equalityva [Equality Virginia] tonight!’
This is one of many incidents where establishments have refused service due to opposing views with their potential customers.
In 2018, the owner of a small Virginia restaurant asked then White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave her establishment.
The decision was met with condemnation and protests were staged outside the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia.
The owner later elaborated on her choice, and said many of her staff members were gay and felt hurt by Sanders’s decision to defend Trump on his desire to bar transgender people from serving in the military.
A Christian graphic artist from Colorado also objected to designing wedding websites for gay couples. The dispute went on to be considered by the Supreme Court.
Lorie Smith, a Colorado-based web designer, said she opposes same-sex marriage on religious grounds. She sued the state in 2016 seeking exemptions for a Colorado law barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Smith, 38, claims her free speech right tops this state statute and allows her to reject request from same-sex couples.
In 2012, a Colorado baker refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple on religious grounds.
His case was heard by the Supreme Court which sided with his case. However, the justices’ ruling was limited, and didn’t deal with the biggest concern in the case – whether religious people like the baker, Jack Phillips, could refuse to serve gay or lesbian people.
Jack Phillips also refused to bake a cake in 2018 that celebrated a gender transition.
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