A pregnant woman was refused service at a Marysville, Washington restaurant because she was wearing a crop top, local news station KIRO 7 reports.
Charisha Gobin, who is seven months pregnant with twins, was turned away at Buzz Inn Steakhouse by a server who told Gobin that her shirt violated the restaurant's "no shoes, no shirt, no service" policy.
"The waitress/bartender stopped us and said, 'I'm sorry, you can’t be here in that shirt.' I said, 'Are you being serious with me right now?' And she said, ‘Yep, you can't be here,'" Gobin told KIRO 7. "Just because my belly was bigger and sticking out. But had it been anyone else, I don't think there would've been any problem whatsoever."
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Gobin took her business elsewhere and drove across town to another restaurant where she says no employees had a problem with her attire.
The Buzz Inn server told KIRO 7 off-camera that Gobin's crop top didn't cover enough of skin to qualify as a shirt and stated that she would have told any person in the same top to "cover up."
Gobin told CBS News that she believes she was turned away because she showed her pregnant stomach and described the situation as "pretty ridiculous."
"Had it been anyone else, I don't think there would've been any problem whatsoever," Gobin told the station.
Pregnant woman in crop top told to leave restaurant for ‘violating the health code,’ she says https://t.co/avq8vqucLK
— The Sacramento Bee (@sacbee_news) September 5, 2017
Buzz Inn Washington corporate sent KIRO 7 the following statement via Twitter: "We sincerely apologize for the misunderstanding and will cover with all staff as to how to not overly enforce a rule that is intended to make all guests feel comfortable," the company wrote. "Our apologies for the misunderstanding. The server in question has been with our company and a great employee for almost 20 years and was trying to use her best judgement and by no means was trying to be demeaning to the guest again our sincere apology for misunderstanding."