A San Francisco restaurant is facing backlash after staff refused to serve three police because they "felt uncomfortable" that the officers were armed.
Hilda and Jesse, a restaurant on Union Street, posted about the incident on Instagram, sharing that when the officers came in on Friday, they were asked to leave.
"Shortly after seating them, our staff felt uncomfortable with the presence of their multiple weapons," the restaurant said in its post. We then politely asked them to leave."
Following the decision from the restaurant, many took to social media to share their disagreement with the officers being denied service.
In response to the mounting backlash, Rachel Sillcocks, the co-owner and chef at the restaurant, told KGO-TV that they only denied the officers service because they were armed.
"It's not about the fact that we are anti-police," Sillcocks said to the station. "It is about the fact that we do not allow weapons in our restaurant. We were uncomfortable, and we asked them to leave."
Sillcocks said that the officers were welcome to return if they did not have their weapons.
"The San Francisco Police Department stands for safety with respect, even when it means respecting wishes that our officers and I find discouraging and personally disappointing," San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said in a Twitter post addressing the situation. "I believe the vast majority of San Franciscans welcome their police officers, who deserve to know that they are appreciated for the difficult job we ask them to do — in their uniforms — to keep our neighborhoods and businesses safe."
On Sunday, the restaurant took to social media again, this time apologizing for their decision to refuse service to the officers.
The two owners said that they "made a mistake and apologize for the unfortunate incident on Friday when we asked members of the San Francisco Police Department to leave our restaurant."
They continued saying they hoped this would be a "teachable moment" for them to "repair and continue to build bridges" with the department.
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