Noodles & Company apologizes for chef refusing to serve cop
Virginia police officer denied service
A Virginia police officer was refused service at a restaurant Monday because one of the cooks refused to serve her while she was in uniform.
Authorities said the uniformed Alexandria police officer was standing in line at Noodles & Company when the cook came out from the back and told the cashier, “You better pull me off the line, because I'm not serving that,” according to Fox 5 DC.
The department said the cashier and the cook started to laugh and the officer left the restaurant. Police Chief Earl Cook was upset and spoke to management at the restaurant Tuesday. The restaurant said it would conduct an investigation into the incident.
“Well your first response as a police officer is anger," Cook said. "These are very difficult times right now with our relations with everyone, and to have one of my officers treated in that manner unnecessarily-- your first response is anger, then you calm down a bit."
The restaurant’s management told Cook that the situation unfolded just as the Alexandria officer alleged.
“Noodles & Company expects the highest ethical and personal behavior from its team members. We value each of our guests and are committed to treating every one with dignity and respect. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination,” the company said in a statement.
“We are working with the appropriate authorities and local police association representatives to get to the bottom of, and resolve this matter as quickly as possible. We have made efforts to reach out to the police officer involved, but have not yet spoken with her. We will continue to look into the situation and will take the appropriate actions at the conclusion of this review.”
In an effort to smooth things over, Alexandria Police Union rep Pete Feltham said the restaurant agreed to post signs on their doors to support police.
"We hope that the business is not judged by the actions of a couple of individuals," said Feltham.
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