A waitress in the Washington, D.C.-area was fired after she told a news outlet that she would refuse to serve officials in President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.
The waitress, Suzannah Van Rooy, worked at Beuchert’s Saloon on Capitol Hill, according to several outlets.
Van Rooy told The Washingtonian that she would not “feel comfortable” serving someone who “has moral convictions that are strongly opposed to mine.”
“I personally would refuse to serve any person in office who I know of as being a sex trafficker or trying to deport millions of people,” Van Rooy said.
“It’s not, ‘Oh, we hate Republicans’. It’s that this person has moral convictions that are strongly opposed to mine, and I don’t feel comfortable serving them,” she added.
Reportedly, the Washingtonian’s piece was about whether there would be a local “resistance” to Trump’s presidency. During his first time in office, now-Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was ejected from a Virginia restaurant.
Restaurant workers in DC are pledging to make it difficult for people in the Trump admin to dine out. Totally normal pic.twitter.com/R0Kvsv0OKy
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 13, 2024
"People were a lot more motivated the first time around to do those kinds of shows of passion. This time around, there is kind of a sense of defeat and acceptance," Van Rooy said. "But I hope that people still do stand up to this administration and tell them their thoughts on their misbehavior."
According to Fox5 DC, Van Rooy worked as an organizer for Texas Democrat Beto O'Rourke's failed run for governor in 2022.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Beuchert's Saloon said that Van Rooy’s remarks were “reprehensible” and that she was fired for violating their "zero-tolerance policy on discrimination."
Despite Van Rooy’s online profiles stating she was a manager at the saloon, the company claimed that this was not the case. Beuchert's confirmed to Fox News that she was a part-time server.
“Recent comments made by a member of staff who had no authority to speak on behalf of our entire restaurant have been, quite rightly, flagged as inappropriate, hostile, intolerant, and unacceptable. This staff member does NOT speak for us as a restaurant. After the inauguration in January, we will begin serving our fourth administration as a neighborhood restaurant on Capitol Hill open to all and welcoming to all,” the company wrote on Facebook.
“We have always been a safe space for all. Everyone, especially anyone who feels prejudged or misunderstood, will always find friendly service and a sympathetic ear at Beuchert’s Saloon. Again, we deeply apologize for the comments made by a member of staff. They are NOT representative of our restaurant and do not reflect how we operate as a business, and how proud we are to be a gathering place on Capitol Hill,” they added.
According to Fox News, the restaurant also said that it dismissed the server because she had also signed into the company’s social media accounts to speak on behalf of the restaurant without authorization.
"Not only do Ms. Van Rooy’s comments clearly violate our zero-tolerance policy on discrimination, but her decision to sign into our social media accounts in the middle of the night to post her own rhetoric in wildly offensive responses to comments is a further breach of conduct and protocol. She has no authority to speak on our behalf, and her comments do not reflect the positions of over twenty other people who make up our staff," the Friday statement read.
"For these reasons as well as the sheer dismay and disgust we feel at her unforgivable behavior, Ms. Van Rooy has been dismissed immediately. Our staff and families (many of whom are personally offended by Ms. Van Rooy’s comments about them) are still reeling from what Ms. Van Rooy said and did, and we as a restaurant are simply horrified to be associated with base prejudice."