Restaurant refuses to serve Christian group due to its anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-abortion views

A local restaurant cancelled a private event for a group that holds anti-LGBTQ+ views.

The Metzger bar and butchery in Richmond, Virginia announced that it had cancelled the event in an Instagram post on 1 December.

It had reportedly refused to cater to a group associated with The Family Foundation, which routinely advocates for anti-LGBTQ+ laws and regulations.

“In eight years of service we have very rarely refused service to anyone who wished to dine with us,” the statement read.

“Recently, we refused service to a group that had booked an event with us after the owners of Metzger found out it was a group of donors to a political organisation that seeks to deprive women and LGBTQ+ persons of their basic human rights.”

The German-influenced restaurant in Union Hill added that it wished to keep its staff and patrons safe, while respecting groups who “deserve dignity and a safe working environment.”

It is owned by celebrity chef Brittanny Anderson – known for her appearances on TV shows such as Top Chef and Chopped – who has since deleted her Twitter account and private her Instagram profile.

The Family Foundation was set to host a reception for supporters on 30 November before being refused service by the restaurant.

In a blog post, the group accused the establishment of denying them service because of their beliefs while professing: “We’ve been cancelled again!”

Family Foundation director Victoria Cobb then went on to shamelessly compare the situation to “an environment from the 1950s and early 60s” when Black people and racial minorities were denied services due to the colour of their skin.

She compared the refusal of service because of the group’s attempts to deny same-sex couples the right to marriage to a 1960s 34-person protest by Black Virginia Union University students who wished to be served at a “whites-only” counter.

But neither of these comparisons is even close to comparable, according to University of Texas professor Elizabeth Sepper, who told The Washington Post that discrimination against a group because of inalienable characteristics is not the same as the refusal of service due to the group’s actions.

“It’s about the overall positions and policies the group has taken – it’s not about Christian vs non-Christian,” she said.

Since the debacle, Metzger Bar and Butchery’s Yelp page was frozen, citing an “unusual activity alert.”

“This business recently received increased public attention,” the alert read. “which often means people come to this page to post their views on the news.

“While we don’t take a stand one or the other when it comes to this incident, we’ve temporarily disabled the posting of content to this page.”