A Washington DC restaurant has fired a waitress after she stated she would refuse to serve individuals associated with President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. Suzannah Van Rooy, who worked at Beuchert’s Saloon on Capitol Hill, made the comments in an interview with The Washingtonian. Van Rooy said that she would “refuse to serve any person in office who I know of as being a sex trafficker or trying to deport millions of people.” She added: “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.”
Her comments were part of a broader report examining potential resistance in Washington, D.C., to officials in the upcoming Trump administration. The report drew comparisons to incidents from Trump’s first term, including the time then-White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave a Virginia restaurant. “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 continued. “But I hope that people still do stand up to this administration and tell them their thoughts on their misbehavior.”
According to Fox News, Van Rooy’s LinkedIn page, which has since been deleted, previously listed her responsibilities at Beuchert’s Saloon, including messaging strategies, managing events for political figures, and building relationships with influencers. She also served as an organizer for Democrat Beto O’Rourke’s unsuccessful 2022 gubernatorial campaign. Beuchert’s Saloon swiftly responded to Van Rooy’s comments, calling them “reprehensible.” In a statement to Fox News, the restaurant confirmed that she had been fired for violating their “zero-tolerance policy on discrimination.” The business also clarified that she was a part-time server, not a manager.
“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,” the restaurant said in a statement on Thursday.
“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. 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.” the statement continued.
The restaurant released a follow-up statement on Friday, calling Van Rooy’s actions “unforgivable.” It also disclosed that Van Rooy had accessed the business’s social media accounts without permission to express her opinions. “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 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,” it added.
