WALDORF, Md. — The general manager and two other employees of a Maryland Cracker Barrel have been fired after the restaurant refused service to a group of 11 special education students and seven teachers.
Teachers from the group at Charles County Public Schools said they were refused service during an outing on Dec. 3 at the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store on Robert S. Crain Highway.
"We unfortunately had a very bad experience at Cracker Barrel today with not only the servers, but the manager and the general manager as well," an email from teachers to parents after the Dec. 3 incident reads. "... The servers were blatantly rude to our staff and ignored all of our students. Refusing to serve them, they did not even ask if our students wanted a drink or anything."
Officials at the restaurant chain had been communicating with Charles County Public Schools administration within days after the incident. CCPS Superintendent Maria Navarro explained that students went to Cracker Barrel to have lunch as part of an initiative called community-based instruction, which aims to help students with special needs adopt occupational and social skills.
"Senior Cracker Barrel executives met on Monday with leadership and teachers from the school as well as the parent community to hear their concerns directly. We also shared actions we have taken ... to address recent missteps at that store locations," Cracker Barrel's media relations team said on Wednesday. "These actions include completing an internal investigation ... separating three members of the store's team, including the general manager."
The restaurant also promised to add a "specialized training" program to the Waldorf location's onboarding.
Dustin Reed, whose 7-year-old daughter, Madelynn, was part of the community-based initiative, said he could not believe the email educators sent to him on Dec. 3.
"I had to reread it a couple of times," Reed said on Friday. "I cried and then that turned to anger."
"The alleged treatment of CCPS students and staff at Cracker Barrel is one that no one should experience," Superintendent Maria Navarro said last Thursday. "However, it is encouraging that the district manager said the business would be willing to work with CCPS to do better."
Cracker Barrel has admitted that their staff did not follow protocol but denied accusations that staff discriminated against the students because of their disabilities. The restaurant also drew a distinction between what Charles County Public Schools staff members and students experienced and refusing service.
"We did not refuse service to this student group," Cracker Barrel's media relations team said on Wednesday. "But operational breakdowns caused by staffing shortages and poor communication on our part led us to fall well short of our service standards that day."
However, the initiative's lunch at the restaurant was not an unexpected visit, according to Superintendent Navarro.
"Charles County Public Schools staff notified the establishment of the planned visit, including how many were in the party," Superintendent Navarro told parents and community members on Thursday. "... CCPS staff were reportedly told by restaurant staff that no reservations were necessary."
Dustin Reed of Brandywine said that store representatives repeated their denial to parents and CCPS faculty during a meeting on Monday, telling Charles County community members they did not discriminate against students for their disabilities.
"It felt like they were just gaslighting us," Reed said. "There was no ownership about happened at the store."
Some other community members appear to feel similarly. Soon after his daughter's experience at Cracker Barrel, Reed created a social media event page to plan a protest at the Waldorf location on Sun., Dec. 15.
"#CanWeEatNow (Protest of Cracker Barrel)" has 236 people who indicated that they were either "going" or "interested" in attending, as of Friday night.
"Rain, snow or whatever, I'm going to to be there," Reed said on Friday.