Panera Bread is apologizing to a toddler and her family after an employee asked a little girl to remove her "squeaky" shoes because they were bothering a customer.
According to FOX News, Catherine Duke and her daughter Emma were eating out in the Savannah, Georgia, when an assistant manager asked Catherine to remove her daughter's shoes after getting complaints from other customers.
Duke told FOX News that her two-year-old daughter has a developmental disorder and needed her orthopedic shoes, which were medically prescribed to walk. Despite explaining her daughter's condition, Duke said she was still asked to remove Emma's shoes.
The chain has issued an apology to the Duke family stating "the last thing we would want to do is make anyone feel unwelcome." The chain told her that the employee was formally new on the job. FOX reported that the chain is considering throwing a fundraiser to help the Duke family pay for Emma's medical bills.
"I think this is something she (the employee) didn't quite know how to handle with having customers complain about it," Duke told FOX. "They want to help children with disabilities and this was just something that happened in their cafe and they are not proud of it."
Last week, a group of mentally disabled patrons were asked to leave a McDonald's by the franchise's manager.
Constance Gastinell, who works with adults through various interactive, told ABC News 10 that the manager confronted the party and told them they were not allowed to eat at the establishment and insisted they leave. Gastinell said she was told by the owner that the adults were "conducting business."
According to ABC News 10, restaurant owner Dennis and Vicki Caldwell, issued a statement, which explained the group was disrupting guest and causing employees trouble.
"This recent situation involved a food fight within their group, and disruption to our other guests," it stated. "We have consistently attempted to work with these guests and accommodate their needs as best we can."
