Gourmet Heaven Providence RI.

When making a salad for my lunch between my classes and job, I was rudely and unreasonably interrupted by a manager at GOURMET HEAVEN in Providence RI. He told me it wasn't healthy for them for me to not wear shoes. I guess these people eat off of the floor? Barefoot or not the floor of a popular establishment is not somewhere I'd make my meals. This man thought it appropriate to not only tell me to leave, not listening to the fact that he was unlawfully asking me to leave, but to not allow me to even check out. 

I asked him if he was just going to waste the salad. He said no that he was going to eat it. Hm...so not only did he prevent his company from making a few bucks, he ate for free...now I'm not sure what their employee food privelages are, but at some places that looks an awful lot like stealing. 

This man forcibly removed the tray from my hand and took the food for himself. This is absolutely dispicable and I let him know that. He seemed absolutely confident that he had done nothing wrong...


Well...I have jumped onto the company's facebook page and left this. Just as I was in there legally, there is nothing illicit about exercising my power of free speech to inform the company a member of their staff had thrown me out in a most unsavory way

I would ask you to read the post on their page and if you have a facebook please consider leaving a comment on the post showing them that I'm not alone. 

https://www.facebook.com/gourmetheaven

for those of you without a facebook account here is the post:

"I visited your Providence location today to get lunch before I went in for work. I have been shopping there since my freshman year of college, three years ago. Everything was business as usual until I was interrupted at the salad bar by what seemed to be a manager of some sort. He told me I could not eat there without shoes. I wasn't eating there. I was getting food and taking it to go. I asked him why and he cited a non existent state law regarding a requirement for patrons to wear shoes when in a food establishment. There are no signs on the door to indicate a policy. 

Let me be perfectly clear. THERE IS NO HEALTH CODE OR OTHER LAW REQUIRING FOOTWEAR IN ANY ESTABLISHMENT. IF THERE IS NO SIGN ON THE DOOR THERE IS NO POLICY. BY REMOVING SOMEONE FROM SAID ESTABLISHMENT THEY ARE BREAKING THE LAW AND COMMITTING DISCRIMINATION.

I informed this man that there is no state or federal regulation regarding this issue. He stubbornly refused. He told me to get shoes and come back. I don't wear shoes for health reasons. Something I informed him even though I was under no obligation to discuss my medical requirements as I was in violation of NO regulation. He still insisted that I had to leave. I told him I would complete my purchase and leave. He still refused to budge from his legally indefensible argument. Not only did he tell me I could not pay for the salad I had made at the salad bar, when I asked him if he was just going to waste it, he physically TOOK it from my hands, and walked away with it. Your business won't be making any money off of that will it? This man had no right to take something forcibly from my hands and guess what, it definitely constituted unwanted touching aka Battery under Rhode Island law.

"Battery involves unwanted touching. Whether it’s a shove, punch, or even a finger poking the chest in an instigating manner—all of these could be considered battery."

Attached is a correspondence between a citizen and the Principal Sanatarian. It makes it abundantly clear in black and white plain english that there are no laws around this.

Your employee had no right to remove me from this establishment, no right to forcibly take my food, and treat me this way.

This was a despicable and warrantless violation of my rights. I have come to expect more from Gourmet Heaven in the last THREE YEARS I have been shopping barefoot at your location. This man's conduct was unprofessional and illegal. I don't want to have to deal with this in the future. I am now going into work and then another class with no food. I wont be able to eat until dinner time. So thanks to your employee, I am going hungry today and your business lost out on ten dollars."

I will print out health code flyers and I am going to stand on their corner, within my rights, and hand out flyers to anyone going in there who will take them. This man needs to be know that such blatant discrimination will not be tolerated.

If they delete my post I will repost it. I will not be censored, I have the right to make my thoughts known. 

Thank you all for reading!