DC's The Red Hen caught in uproar after Sarah Sanders ousted from Va. restaurant with same name

WASHINGTON - A D.C. restaurant is feeling the heat after White House press Secretary Sarah Sanders says she was asked to leave a Lexington, Virginia restaurant with the same name because she works for President Donald Trump.

The owner of The Red Hen, an Italian restaurant located in D.C.'s Bloomingdale neighborhood, has no relation to the Red Hen restaurant in Virginia, where a waiter says his boss told him to ask Sanders to leave. Sanders says she was dining with her family Friday night at the Virginia restaurant when they were asked to leave. The incident has sparked reaction on both sides of the aisle.

Reviewers from across the political spectrum are sounding off on the Virginia restaurant's Facebook and Yelp pages, but now reviewers have been targeting D.C.'s The Red Hen as well.

One and five-star reviews filled the Virginia Red Hen restaurant's social media pages after a server at the Lexington restaurant posted on Facebook, saying, "I just served Sarah Huckabee Sanders for a total of two minutes before my owner kicked her out along with seven of her other family members."

Sanders also tweeted about being refused service moments later.

While some are applauding the restaurant for pushing back against the Trump administration, others are chastising the restaurant owner for being intolerant. Now, The Red Hen restaurant in the District is doing damage control amid the heated encounter.



Sanders is the third Trump administration official has recently been asked to leave a restaurant. Homeland Security Secretary Kristjen Nielsen and White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller have experienced similar situations. These controversial restaurant ejections are happening on the heels of the administration's controversial policy on immigration.