Woman Speaks Out at Restaurant After Being Kicked Out Over Dress Code

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – A Baton Rouge woman is speaking out against Stabs Prime Steakhouse and Seafood after she was kicked out of the popular restaurant this week because of what she was wearing.

It was supposed to be a nice lunch at the steakhouse on Jefferson Highway, but YMine McClanahan says instead of the shrimp she was going to eat, she was served a humiliating slice and a side of disrespect when she was kicked out for violating the dress code.

“I left feeling mortified, violated, ashamed and humiliated, because I had never experienced anything like that as a professional,” McClanahan said. “You feel alienated and you wonder what’s wrong with me. What’s wrong with me?”

A video posted on social media has gone viral, showing that the outfit McClanahan was wearing was a short floral dress. Part of the video shows what happened when the restaurant's co-owner confronted McClanahan before throwing her out of the restaurant for her wardrobe.

I just wanted to show the camera why I can't come here, McClanahan can be heard saying in the video.

It's just too revealing here, the co-owner replied.

WAFB's investigative team reviewed the policy posted on the restaurant's website. The policy requires casual dress and specifically prohibits sweatpants, athletic pants or revealing clothing. It's worth noting that the policy also prohibits tank tops, but the co-owner seen in the video enforcing it appears to be violating the policy herself. McClanahan says it's like the pot is mocking the pot.

WAFB's Scottie Hunter asked McClanahan if she thought the policy should be more specific and not left up to one person's interpretation.

Yes, exactly because their policy prohibits longshoremen, but she was there telling me I had to leave standing up in a longshoreman, McClanahan said. I just don't have the words to explain it.

McClanahan said she was caught off guard because she had worn the same outfit to the restaurant before without any issues. She shared with WAFB a photo of herself taken about two weeks ago, in the restaurant, wearing the same outfit. She doesn't know why she was denied service this time.

“It's just very disheartening that there is no accountability and no remorse for what was done to me,” McClanahan said.

The WAFB Investigation Team contacted the restaurant owner who released the following statement.

We have a dress code that we ask our customers to follow. Several times a month, we talk to our customers about their attire, including asking them to remove their baseball caps in our restaurant. Contrary to rumors, our dress code is not new, it has been in effect for over three years now. We spoke with a customer yesterday about her attire and she pointed out that our service staff was dressed in a manner that may not meet the standards of our dress code. We have been working on a different uniform for several weeks now so that we do not ask our customers to a different standard than we expect of our staff.

While she understands the rules, McClanahan can’t understand what she sees as a double standard. She also posted a video showing servers at the restaurant wearing short shorts with fishnet tights and some of their midriffs exposed. She wonders if the owners of Stabs don’t let her eat there in what she was wearing, how can they allow their employees to work there in a revealing uniform.

If you hold me to a certain standard for the atmosphere that you're trying to create, then why aren't your staff members held to the same standard, because also, the sweet hostess, her shoulders were out, McClanahan said. She now questions the timing of the changes the owners claim they made to their servers' uniforms and believes it was an excuse after she called them out on their hypocrisy.

I find it very convenient because if that were the case, it should have been implemented already, McClanahan said. It doesn't take that long to repair a uniform.

McClanahan is an official with the local NAACP chapter. The group sent the following letter to Stabs management, requesting an early meeting with them.

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