Stood up, ‘kicked out’: Woman sues restaurant for ‘refusing service’ on Valentine’s Day

SHOULD restaurants be allowed to ban singles on Valentine’s Day? This woman is furious after her “devastating experience” — and now she’s suing.

SHOULD restaurants be allowed to ban singles on Valentine’s Day?

A woman in the US city of Portland is suing an Italian restaurant for refusing to serve her when her Valentine’s date didn’t show up for dinner.

According local news station KGW, Kathleen Hampton made a 7pm reservation for two people at Enzo’s Caffe Italiano on February 14, but her husband backed out at the last minute as the pair had gone on a lunch date earlier in the day.

Mrs Hampton decided to keep the reservation, but claims she felt uncomfortable about the way she was treated from the moment she arrived.

“I was finally seated after people coming in after me was [sic] seated,” Mrs Hampton said in court documents, according to KGW. “I thought that was strange but I was not getting any services.”

A waitress at the restaurant, which was serving a special five-course Valentine’s Day menu, allegedly asked Mrs Hampton to leave her table when she said she was ready to order.

While she was offered a seat at the bar, she claims she just wanted to leave. “I was so hurt. I’ve never experienced this before here in Portland and I was crushed,” she said. “I even gave them away [sic] out by saying I will do take out and they told me they don’t do take out.”

She is now suing the restaurant for $US100,000 ($A128,500) over the “devastating ordeal” and wants a public apology “to make sure all business owners in N.E. Alberta know we are serious about our community”.

The Portland restaurant said on busy nights it needs every seat in the house.

Restaurant owner Enzo Lanzadoro gave his side of the story to the news station, saying that when Mrs Hampton arrived alone, the staff assumed her date was still on the way, so offered her a glass of wine while she waited.

He said on nights when the restaurant serves special menus, the staff typically do not seat people until the entire party arrives. Tables are reserved for parties of two or more, he told KGW, because the restaurant is so busy it needs every seat.

Mr Lanzadoro claims Mrs Hampton did not tell the waitress that her date had cancelled, so was seated and eventually offered a second glass of wine.

“When the waitress asked her if the other person was coming, she said, ‘No, he’s not coming,’” he told KGW. “At that time, because of that day — Valentine’s Day — the waitress said, ‘Sorry you cannot take a table by yourself, you can either sit at the bar or outside.’”

Mr Lanzadoro added that while he is not willing to pay up, he would like to speak to Mrs Hampton and invite her back to his restaurant. “I am so sorry. It was in no way intentional. Please let me make up for it.’ That is what I would say if I could talk to her,” he told KGW.

In a post on Facebook, the restaurant thanked its customers for “supporting us through this false accusation”.

“It’s cooking great Italian food as usual at Enzo’s Caffe Italiano, and we sincerely thank everyone for their tremendous support,” the restaurant wrote.

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