Is Olive Garden Anti-American?

[Flicka]

What are your thoughts on this?

Olive Garden: American Flag Display Would ‘Disrupt the Dining Experience’

80-year-old Marti Warren thought she was doing a good thing a little over a month ago when she booked a local Olive Garden restaurant in Oxford, Alabama, to host a Kiwanis club awards banquet. The chapter president got a rude awakening the night of the gathering, however, when restaurant staff refused to allow her to bring an American flag inside the restaurant.

Warren, who lived through World War II and was later part of her local desegregation movement, said, “This is not my country. This is not my country I grew up with.â€

The justly outraged Warren told WBRC-TV, “I was so angry. I felt like I had been slapped in the faceâ€:

That slap came from the Oxford Olive Garden. One hour before the Golden K Kiwanis club‘s awards banquet the restaurant manager told Warren she couldn’t bring in their banner or even an American flag. “I said having known this earlier you can bet we never would have eaten here. And I said if we had time we would have gone to McDonald’s because we know they are American all the way through,†said Warren

In response, Olive Garden’s parent company, Orlando-based Darden Restaurants, said in a statement:

“Like all Americans we have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for the American flag and everything it symbolizes. In fact, we periodically provide American flag collar pins to our employees to wear while serving our guests. We understand and appreciate the way some people have reacted to the situation in Oxford and we’re very sorry if this decision has caused them any concern. The Oxford Olive Garden does not have a private dining area. To be fair to everyone and avoid disrupting the dining experience for all other guests, they’re unable to accommodate flags or banners of any type in the dining room.â€

But Warren says that’s not what the restaurant told her:

In fact she says they told her she’d be in banquet room three. And as for being in the way, they were seated in the back by the kitchen. “I resent that. I do resent that. I‘m about truthfulness and that’s not truthful,†said Warren.

While the American flag was not present during the Kiwanis club banquet, Warren urged the group to close their eyes, picture the most “beautiful†American flag and recite the pledge of allegiance.

Warren is not taking things lying down either. She has vowed to boycott Olive Garden along with all other Darden restaurants and has urged others to do the same.

“Word of mouth is powerful and if people find this out and decide not to patronage these places…it will hurt them in their pocket,†said Warren.

It is probably worth noting that just last month, Darden Restaurants agreed to partner with Michelle Obama’s “Partnership for a Healthier America†by cutting the calorie and sodium levels of menu items by 10 percent within the next five years and 20 percent within the next 10 years.

 

[motochris]

F#$% olive garden. These articles make me sick to my stomach.
I promise you will Never see my face in olive garden again. Damn it this struck a nerve. I just text my wife...we will never eat at o.g. again. F#$% em!

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[BusaBret]

I hope this goes viral and it affects their business negatively nationwide. Would be no great loss if they close.

from my dunce stool via tapatalk

 

[BlondeOnaBusa]

While I realize they have rules to make your dining experience pleasant how can an American flag be disruptive? I don't understand that and never will.

 

[dadofthree]

My wife loves the place, but this will have to be resolved before I drop another American Penny in there.

 

[PAPA SNOW]

Never ate there anyway,,,I just figured they would suk,,food or otherwise,,,,

 

[k03gsxr750]

snopes.com: Olive Garden Flag Ban

Origins: On 4 October 2011, the Olive Garden in the east Alabama town of Oxford refused permission for the local Kiwanis group to display either the U.S. flag or the group's banner at its annual meeting, which was to be held in that restaurant. The service group planned to recite the pledge of allegiance at the beginning of its gathering, but this activity had to proceed flagless in light of Olive Garden's decision. Many of the Kiwanis present were veterans and were upset when told that there would be no flag.

Citing the lack of a private dining area in that particular establishment, company officials stated "To be fair to everyone and avoid disrupting the dining experience for all other guests, they're unable to accommodate flags or banners of any type in the dining room."

The meeting went on as scheduled, with 80-year-old Kiwanis member Marty Warren asking club members to close their eyes and picture the flag waving in the wind as they said the pledge of allegiance.

The parent firm of Olive Garden, Darden restaurants, also operates the Red Lobster and Longhorn chains.

Olive Garden has subsequently recanted that statement, saying employees of the company were confused and that there was no such policy regarding the American flag.

A media contact for the restaurant chain issued this apology via e-mail to the Anniston Star:
We are very sorry for any misunderstanding about this issue. We do not have a policy at Olive Garden concerning bringing the American flag into our restaurants. Some members of our team were misinformed about company policy by our corporate office. As a company we take responsibility for that and we regret it. We take pride in how we communicate to our restaurants and we are correcting this so it doesn’t happen again. Like all Americans we have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for the American flag and everything it symbolizes, and we welcome anyone who wishes to bring the flag into our restaurants. In fact, we periodically provide American flag collar pins to our employees to wear while serving guests.
A senior vice-president of the restaurant chain has apologized to Marty Warren by telephone and will be apologizing in person on 17 October 2011 to some of the members of that Kiwanis chapter. As part of that mea culpa, that official will be taking the group to lunch somewhere in Anniston. He will also speak to the entire club on 4 November 2011 at the Oxford Civic Center.

Barbara "olive branched" Mikkelson

Last updated: 14 October 2011

Sounds to be the employee's were more confused out the policy than outright trying to anger anyone. This was a judgment call that got put on the wrong persons hand, period end of story. If you think Olive Garden as a company as in hundreds of restaurants being run by that group are Anti-American IMHO you have a screw loose.

 

[BusaWhipped]

I've only rarely eaten there. Too many good restaurants to go to.

 

[red1100cc]

i'm going to take the other point of view on this one. (although i have no love at all for the place!)

why would they have a meeting at olive garden? ???
olive garden is not a meeting hall, it is a "fine?" dining establishment.
i as a president of a very American organization would NEVER try to hold a meeting in an olive garden or any restaurant like that.
it is rude and very disruptive to walk into a place and expect to be able to redecorate the place to suit your needs, then continue to be loud and disruptive to the rest of the customers by doing the pledge and our opening prayers and holding a meeting.
olive garden is a restaurant, and respect must be given to the rest of the patrons. i don't think MickE D's is a appropriate place for a meeting either.
there is a time and place for everything.
i have my meetings at the Elks, the Moose, K of C, American Legion, Eagles lodges.

it sounds like they needed a private banquet hall.

and is it just me ??? or did the article try to make her out to be a black vet of ww2? :wtf:

 

[GNBRETT]

flags and banners are not for privately owned restraunts so I dont see anything unamerican about it at all. its their place of business and they reserve the right to make that choice. its a private some what classy dining area not a knights of columbus hall.

I dont understand why people think a place of business is being unamerican when they enforce dinning edicate rules in their own restraunt. im sure if someone wanted to have a party there who was Italian and wanted to hang an Italian flag it would have been rejected to.

 

[Schexy1]

i'm going to take the other point of view on this one. (although i have no love at all for the place!)

why would they have a meeting at olive garden? ???
olive garden is not a meeting hall, it is a "fine?" dining establishment.
i as a president of a very American organization would NEVER try to hold a meeting in an olive garden or any restaurant like that.
it is rude and very disruptive to walk into a place and expect to be able to redecorate the place to suit your needs, then continue to be loud and disruptive to the rest of the customers by doing the pledge and our opening prayers and holding a meeting.
olive garden is a restaurant, and respect must be given to the rest of the patrons. i don't think MickE D's is a appropriate place for a meeting either.
there is a time and place for everything.
i have my meetings at the Elks, the Moose, K of C, American Legion, Eagles lodges.

it sounds like they needed a private banquet hall.

and is it just me ??? or did the article try to make her out to be a black vet of ww2? :wtf:

WWII and Freedom Rider, makes her seem more patriotic.

 

[O Holy P]

If there wasn't a private area for them to use (like stated), then piss off or rent the entire restaurant for the night. They made the right call IMO, the last thing I'd want to see while sitting down for a nice dinner is a bunch of banners & flags with people hoopin' & a holler'n. This should be common sense and not resort to patriotic BS, get real.

 

[Busa1166]

I don't see anything wrong with it

Pretty sure they didn't tell the people their that they wanted to hang stuff up their buisness which they should have..


They have no private dining area so no banner or flags of any kind doesn't seem like an unreasonable policy. I eat there all the time and will continue to. If they let one person do it they would have to let every one do it for their events or meetings. When the Mexican coalition want to have an event then they get to hang up there banner and flag, the Nazi party, I can see the place turning into a place I wouldn't want to dine at. Would a banner and the American flag have ruined my dinner, no but I can see some banners and flags and party decorations would, so I can understand the policy in place.

This is why banquest halls even Hotels and clubs will rent out there space for your event and you can hang and place what ever you want, I can see the need for this policy and see nothing Anti-American about it

I stopped eating at Dennys because the their issues but I will definetly keep dining at Olive Garden

 

[motochris]

I hear the otherside. Devils advocate if you will. I respect the rules, principals,and choices they make. I have my PRINCIPALS and choices to make. I Boycott Olive Garden. :-)

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[HRHDi]

Not unAmerican but gross food.

 

[RMS2005]

F#$% olive garden. These articles make me sick to my stomach.
I promise you will Never see my face in olive garden again. Damn it this struck a nerve. I just text my wife...we will never eat at o.g. again. F#$% em!

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add my name to the list as well.
If our flag is that disruptive to some one then they need to get the hell outta this country and be free and happy elsewhere.

 

[Jet Li]

I think the staff at the restaurant got it wrong. First of all, I do not consider Olive Garden, fine dining!! LOL !!!! Pretty nice, but no where near fine dining. I really don't think displaying old glory would have made the situation any more disruptive though. As far as hoopin and hollirn and being loud, I have been in plenty of eating establishments where there was a group of folks being quite loud and rowdy and my food digested just fine. Nothing new there. So, I think Olive Garden as a whole is not anti-American, but the management of that location seems a bit that way to me!

And I am gonna eat all the salt I please, First Lady!! LOL!!!!!!!

 

[Sum Beach]

flags and banners are not for privately owned restraunts so I dont see anything unamerican about it at all. its their place of business and they reserve the right to make that choice. its a private some what classy dining area not a knights of columbus hall.

I dont understand why people think a place of business is being unamerican when they enforce dinning edicate rules in their own restraunt. im sure if someone wanted to have a party there who was Italian and wanted to hang an Italian flag it would have been rejected to.

Very good point here! It is a PRIVATE establishment and have there own set rules! No flags or banners displayed.
That group could not display their flag the same way the local chapter of the KKK could not display their flag in the restaurant.(think that would be disruptive?)
The rules either apply to everyone or no one.

 

[reelstuff]

I find it interesting to see some of the opinions here, and to some extent I understand some of them, however, in the past, most every Restaurant, has a flag pole, along with an American Flag, it was part of doing business, these days I challenge you to find a flag out side most business locations in the US.

Now, I have to really wonder about this news story, not only because I have actually eaten at this location before, in fact I am a regular customer, or (should I say I was, a regular customer.) There is no excuse for this behavior, Period, If not for the American Flag, you would have no freedom to own and operate a business, Men have died and given the ultimate sacrifice so that people all over the World have a chance at freedom.

Now, I find it interesting that only after this became a "National News Story" did the Corporate head munchers, come out and say these employees were not well informed, it was an accident, it was not really a company policy but it was just bad communication, (I can almost hear a goat in the background balling and prating) This same (corporate behavior was evident last year when Chase Bank inc) Banned all displays of the Christmas trees in their lobbies, because (it might offend someone)

Now at first you might think that these two things are unrelated but upon closer examination they are exactly the same thing.

Why you ask, ?

Simple, when a minority (by definition the smaller number of the whole,)

When you begin to attempt to make all your rules according to the small number of people who may be offended at anything or everything, eventually you will be unable to serve a particular dish because it might offend someone.

Sounds extreme, sure it is, but this is how it begins, with banning the display of our National Flag,

I called and spoke to the manager of this location, as I have eaten there 14 times in the last year, and asked her why she did this, and she said that we don't allow anyone to display anything, so that no one might accidentally become offended.

My reply was really, so just in case someone were offended you ban the American Flag, and her reply was we don't allow anyone to display anything, so I replied to her, so what does that make you an equal opportunity repressive, restaurant,

When you take Politically correctness to the extreme you loose, your freedom...

I know one thing, if not for the greatest generation, None of us would have the freedom to choose a place to eat.

Since we do have the freedom to choose, I choose not to eat at Olive Garden again, simply because I can be reasonably sure that there will be other restaurants, that will have no problem displaying a flag, If I were a restaurant owner, I would put a flag up outside my business and invite everyone to come enjoy food at an American owned business.

 

[BusaWhipped]

Political Correctness offends me.