Vancouver eatery manager fired for denying service to customer in pro-Trump hat

VANCOUVER — A Vancouver restaurant manager has been fired for refusing service to a customer who was wearing a proTrump “Make America Great Again” hat.

In an emailed statement, the Sequoia Company of Restaurants, which fired a member of its management team at the Teahouse in Stanley Park, said it “does not support intolerance of any kind” and “cannot discriminate against someone based on their support for the current administration in the United States or any other bonafide political party.”

The “Make America Great Again” slogan was printed on red hats during U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016 and became a symbol of support for the president, who has been sharply criticized in recent weeks for his administration’s separation of migrant children from their parents as well as its escalation of a trade war with Canada and other countries.

Sequoia, which also owns Seasons in the Park, Cardero’s and The Sandbar, said the fired manager was “a good person with a big heart and has a right to his personal beliefs.”

But the company said the manager is expected to follow and promote the company’s “philosophy of tolerance and respect” as a Teahouse representative.

“Like all our restaurants, The Teahouse has no political, ethnic or other bias and is committed to welcoming all visitors to Vancouver and treating all our customers with respect,” the statement said.

The company did not say when the incident occurred.

Under the B.C. Human Rights code, the political beliefs of employees are protected, but not those of people being provided services or accommodations.

The denial of service to customers based on their politics made headlines in the U.S. this week after White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked by staff to leave a small-town restaurant in Lexington, Virginia.