The operating manager of the Red Hen restaurant in New Jersey says they’ve been inundated with phone calls after White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders was refused service at a Virginia restaurant with the same name.
Elizabeth Pope told WOR’s “Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning” that she estimates they’ve received 1,000 phone calls and have been forced to put up with “verbal abuse.”
“At first we had no idea what it was about and then realized that our Facebook was blowing up. At first I thought we were hacked but then I went to the news feeds and realized that we were mistakenly implicated in another restaurant that shares the same name as us,” Pope said.
She said they’re fortunate that their loyal customers have defended them. However, Pope said some people refuse to believe they weren’t the ones to refuse service to Sanders.
“The Facebook page is a very interesting mix of emotions and opinions, to say the least,” Pope said.
She said only time will tell whether this has a positive or negative impact on their business.