A Louisiana nurse was kicked out of a ritzy steakhouse she regularly frequented because management claimed her outfit was “too revealing” and violated its dress code.
Y’Mine McClanahan wore a two-piece outfit — a modest floral top and a separate lengthy skirt that reached her feet — when she arrived at Stabs Prime Steak and Seafood in Baton Rouge, La. on Tuesday, according to her Facebook post.
McClanahan said she had worn the same outfit to a separate location “SEVERAL times.”
However, she was told to leave over a recent change in the restaurant’s dress code policy.
“People can wear jeans, regular t shirts, their waitresses can wear mini skirts with their butt hanging out and fish nets but my set is too revealing for the ‘atmosphere’ they’re trying to create,” the family nurse practitioner angrily pointed out in her post. “Never again. I’m done with Stabs.”
McClanahan posted a video of a heated exchange with the steakhouse’s co-owner, Dori Murvin, who pointed out the outfit’s flaws, according to The Advocate.
“I just wanted to get it on camera why I can’t come in with what I have on,” McClanahan asked.
“This is just too revealing at the top,” Murvin explained, motioning her hands over her chest.
McClanahan pointed out that the steakhouse’s waitress’s outfit appeared more revealing, but the co-owner quickly brushed off the critique.
“I’m telling you that we have buckled down on our dress code,” Murvin replied. “It’s been like this for a while now.”
“How long is a while?” McClanahan asked, adding that she wore the same outfit at a different location just two weeks before.
McClanahan pointed out that her $75 H&M outfit was not exposing her “breast” and, to her, appeared to be appropriate to wear.
She also uploaded a video of a waitress at Stabs Prime Steak and Seafood wearing a short skirt and fish nets.
Upset over being refused Service at one of her favorite restaurants, McClanahan said she walked down the block to Zea Rotisserie & Bar where she received “several compliments” on her outfit and was “politely seated” without any issue.
The nurse clarified that Stabs Prime Steak and Seafood’s “Central” location is where she usually eats and that “the complaint is for the Jefferson-Baton Rouge location only.”
”I left feeling kind of mortified, violated, ashamed and really humiliated because I had never had something happen like this to me as a working professional,” McClanahan revealed to WAFB.
“You feel alienated and it’s like well what’s wrong with me. What’s the problem with me?”
Stab’s dress code policy is “business casual,” and “proper attire is required” for all patrons, according to the restaurant’s website.
The restaurant specifically points out that “Tank Tops” are not allowed.
McClanahan’s Facebook post has been shared over 3k times since Tuesday.
“AWFUL!! It’s not even revealing or nothing. I’m sorry sis!” one user commented.
“So you can’t wear that but the waitress can wear what she had on make that make sense,” another pointed out.
“Sorry this happened to you sis. Disgusting. Will never patronize them,” stated another.
McClanahan is also the vice president of the Baton Rouge Branch of NAACP.
Her father, Michael W. McClanahan, is Louisiana NAACP state conference president and is on the the organization’s National Board of Directors.
Following mounting backlash online, the steakhouse elaborated on their dress code on Wednesday.
“We have a dress code policy that we ask our customers to observe. A few times a month we speak with our guests about their attire including asking them to remove baseball hats in our restaurant. Contrary to reports our attire policy is not new, it has been in effect for over three years now,” Stabs said in a statement to WAFB.
“We spoke with a guest yesterday about her attire and she pointed out that we have waitstaff dressed in a manner that might not meet the standard of our attire policy. For the last several weeks we have actually been working on a different uniform so that we are not asking a different standard for our customers than we are requiring of our staff.”
