Mother says she was kicked out of a restaurant for breastfeeding her three-day-old son – and was later called an ‘animal’ by the owner after she left a negative online review of the location
- Ruby Meeden and her husband Aaron were meeting relatives at Greek Islands Restaurant in Anacortes, Washington, when her newborn, Rhett, got hungry
- The 25-year-old mom said she made sure she got a ‘good latch’ and was fully ‘covered’ when she entered the restaurant and sat facing the wall
- The Meedens said they waited for a half-hour before the owner allegedly approached their table and told them to get out, saying: ‘Never come back’
- The U.S. has laws in all fifty states that specifically allow women to breastfeed in any public or private location, including restaurants
- Frustrated by their experience, the couple, who also have a two-year-old son, left a negative review of the Greek Islands Restaurant online
- Aaron said the owner responded with a comment calling his children ‘snot-nosed brats’ and his wife ‘an animal’ for nursing in public
- After the dad posted about the alleged mistreatment on Facebook, about two dozen nursing mothers picketed outside the restaurant last Tuesday
A mother has alleged that she and her family were illegally kicked out of a restaurant because she was breastfeeding her newborn baby.
Ruby Meeden, 25, and her husband Aaron, 31, were meeting relatives at Greek Islands Restaurant in Anacortes, Washington, last week with their then three-day-old son Rhett when the baby started to get hungry, KOMO News reported.
‘I made sure to get a good latch before we went in and then I covered and everything and we sat facing the wall,’ Ruby told the news station.
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Outrage: Ruby Meeden, 25, alleged that she and her family were kicked out of Greek Islands Restaurant in Anacortes, Washington, last week because she was breastfeeding her newborn
Claims: The Meedens said they waited for a half-hour before the owner allegedly approached their table and told them to get out, saying: ‘Never come back’
The Meedens said the owner appeared to be busy at the time, and they waited for a half-hour before he finally approached their table. Instead of taking their order, he allegedly told them to get out.
‘So we were asking him, “What’s wrong? Is everything ok,”‘ Aaron recalled. ‘And at that point he said, “Never come back.”‘
The U.S. has laws in all fifty states that specifically allow women to breastfeed in any public or private location, including restaurants.
‘It’s unlawful for someone to request that you stop breastfeeding, cover your child, move to a different area, or leave,’ according to the Breastfeeding Coalition of Washington.
‘My choice to breastfeed my child in that restaurant was the reason my entire family was thrown out,’ Ruby said. ‘It sucked.’
Frustrated by their experience, the couple, who also have a two-year-old son, left a negative review of the Greek Islands Restaurant online, which allegedly prompted an insulting comment from the owner.
‘It called our kids snot-nosed brats and to never come in and breastfeed again. Called my wife an animal,’ Aaron told KOMO of the response.
The dad shared photos of their restaurant review as well as the owner’s alleged comment on Facebook last week.
For real? The couple, who also have a two-year-old son, left a negative review of the restaurant online. They claim the owner commented and called her an ‘animal’ and their sons ‘brats’
Going public: After the Aaron posted about the alleged mistreatment on Facebook, about two dozen nursing mothers picketed outside the restaurant last Tuesday
‘My wife feels horrible and ashamed,’ he wrote of her alleged mistreatment. ‘I won’t be going back and I hope this actually makes a difference.’
About two dozen breastfeeding mothers picketed outside the restaurant last Tuesday with plans of confronting the owner, KOMO reported. However, the restaurant only offered takeout that day and then closed early.
‘He’s going to have to answer for it one way or another because it’s illegal to kick a woman out for breastfeeding,’ Megan Stevens, one of about nursing moms at the protest, told the outlet.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Greek Islands Restaurant for comment.
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