TACOMA, Washington -- A spokesman for Cheesecake Factory said a manager made a mistake when he asked a group of armed Washington state corrections officers to leave the restaurant because of a no guns allowed policy.
Miriam Nichols said she and her co-workers chose the Tacoma restaurant to hold a holiday lunch. But after they walked, restaurant employees stopped them.
"Two people in suits, actually who later we found out were management, were talking to my three co-workers saying that we had to leave because we were armed in their building," Nichols told KOMO. "They kept apologizing saying 'it's policy, it's policy, we're sorry but we have to ask you to leave.'"
When contacted about the the incident, Cheesecake corporate called the entire a misunderstanding.
"Our policy is to allow uniformed and identified law enforcement officials to possess their service weapons on our premises," a company spokesperson said. "To the extent that there was a miscommunication of our policy, we sincerely apologize."
Cheesecake corporate officials reached out to the corrections officers and asked them to give the restaurant another try.
