The restaurant chain Cracker Barrel has apologized after customers became upset after seeing what appeared to be a ‘noose’ hanging from the ceiling at one of its Connecticut locations.
Twitter user Alfonso Robinson posted two images of the noose on Twitter on Monday saying: ‘Someone at Cracker Barrel in East Windsor need to explain why there are nooses on the ceiling…#notagoodlook.’
The restaurant then clarified that noose wasn’t intentional and it was actually wrapped cord that was attached to one of the location’s vintage decorations, but still admitted it was ‘completely unacceptable’ that employees didn’t notice the disturbing resemblance it had.
Cracker Barrel reponded to Robinson’s tweet saying: ‘We’re sorry this happened.’
‘This antique electric soldering iron has an original wrapped cord that should not have been displayed. We have removed the item from our East Windsor store. Many thanks to the guest who notified us of this so that we ould correct our error,’ the restaurant added.
Cracker Barrel has apologized after customers reported seeing what appeared to be a ‘noose’ on display at its East Windsor, Connecticut location. Twitter user Alfonso Robinson shared these two images of the noose on Twitter on Monday
‘Someone at Cracker Barrel in East Windsor need to explain why there are nooses on the ceiling…#notagoodlook’ Robinson said
The following morning after the tweet sparked outrage activists arrived at the restaurant to discuss the issue with the restaurant’s manager Mark Smith.
He said the artifact, which was removed Monday, had been in the restaurant for nearly 22 years.
PowerUp-Manchester founder Keren Prescott met with Smith and she said she had a ‘positive’ and ‘constructive’ conversation with him. Together they went inside the restaurant to see if there was anything else that could be viewed as offensive.
‘At one point the manager said, “you might notice things that I don’t,” which I really appreciated because as white man, he might not view certain things the same as a Black person would,’ Prescott said to the Journal Inquirer.
The restaurant clarified that the rope was actually wrapped cord attached to an antique electric soldering iron on display and said it was removed Monday
Now social media users are calling for the chain to assess its decoration at all its locations and share a timeline for a review to make sure nothing offensive is on display.
Prescot says she plans to reach out to Cracker Barrel’s corporate office to determine if there are similar decorations at other restaurants.
The noose is a ‘key hate symbol targeting African Americans’ according to ADL that stems from the lynching of black people in the time of Jim Crow.
It was particularly jarring for many to see this symbol at the Cracker Barrel chain which describes itself as having a Southern country theme.
Social media users are calling for the chain to assess its decoration at all its locations and share a timeline for a review to make sure nothing offensive is on display
Cracker Barrel said to Fox News in a statement: ‘We work hard to create a culture of hospitality that’s welcoming, respectful and inclusive to everyone who walks through our doors. Some of the historic décor in our stores may be reminiscent of earlier times, but our inclusive culture is firmly grounded in today.’
‘As we previously said, the décor item in our East Windsor store – an antique soldering iron with an original wrapped cord – should have been noticed and corrected before ever being displayed, and it has since been removed. We are grateful to our guest who pointed it out to us so we could correct this mistake.’
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