Olive Garden is making waves in the worst possible way! Everyone at some point or another just wants to celebrate their birthday with family and friends over a good meal. But for some birthdays don’t hold the greatest of memories, like when Police Officer Michael Holsworth was kicked out of his own birthday lunch at the local Olive Garden just for being a cop!
Kansas City Police Officer Michael Holsworth met his family at a local Olive Garden on his lunch break to celebrate his birthday. As he waited for his family at the front of the restaurant, an employee approached him and said, “Sir, we don’t allow guns in here,” according to Holsworth.
A police officer says he was kicked out of an Olive Garden because he was carrying a gun http://t.co/HXGqSYPXrZ pic.twitter.com/QoKaOCs9Gw
— Newsday (@Newsday) October 13, 2015
“Now mind you I am in full police uniform, and on duty,” he explained. “I actually thought it was a joke at first, so I asked her, ‘Are you serious?’” he recalled. “She replied back with ‘Yes.’ So I told her, ‘Well, I can leave I guess.’ She then replied back, ‘Yes, please leave.’”
Holsworth shared his experience on social media where his post went viral. “Now I never in my wildest thoughts of thoughts this would happen in the Kansas City area,” Holsworth posted on Facebook. “I see it happening all over the United States to other officers but never thought it would happen to me.”
The community came out in full support of the police officer and his family. According to local news outlet, Fox 43, “The news sparked outrage on Olive Garden’s Facebook and Twitter pages and the company quickly responded saying that Olive Garden loves serving law enforcement and the incident was a misunderstanding.”
Yesterday, The Children’s Museum of the Upstate in my conservative hometown kicked out a female police officer in uniform for having her duty weapon.
These are the people in management from places like NY and CA. Anyone surprised?
Their Google reviews sure are ticking down… pic.twitter.com/L4vxWSu3Wl
— I Am Leah (@Bossy_Leah) October 24, 2021
Olive Garden’s backlash was so severe that the company’s president personally apologized to Officer Holsworth.
“Rich Jeffers, Olive Garden Spokesperson, said the president of the company, Dave George, called the officer by phone to apologize for the incident. Jeffers said it was not a member of management who told the officer to leave, but a hostess,” reported Fox 4 News.
🚨 NEW REPORT: The Violence Against America's Police Officers Must Stop! Officers shot in the line of duty is up 40% compared to this time in 2020.
⚠️ 166 Officers Shot
⚠️ 20 Officers Gunned Down
⚠️ 54 Officers Shot in 47 Ambush-Style Attacks pic.twitter.com/6u2DVlPJBY— National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) (@GLFOP) June 1, 2023
However, Police Officer’s Magazine reported something completely different. “Olive Garden apologized for the incident and said it was because the officer was armed, not because he was a cop,” David Griffith reported. “And I’d like to throw the flag for 15 yards for BS on that explanation. I think this was a political statement by the restaurant’s employee.”
Officer Holsworth made a final remark on the Olive Garden debacle. “My experience today at Olive Garden was extremely unfortunate,” he wrote. “I posted on Facebook about the treatment I received because I did not want other officers to be subjected to the same embarrassing situation that occurred today.”
