Former Atlanta mayor furious after being turned away from restaurant for wearing leggings

‘Odd that a restaurant in a mall parking lot turns away customers in “mall” attire,’ Keisha Lance Bottoms tweeted

Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, says that she was turned away from a chain restaurant for wearing leggings.

Ms Bottoms tweeted on Friday that she was refused service at The Capital Grille, located at Perimeter Mall in the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody, because she did not meet the dress code.

The former city leader also tweeted that she had offered to sit in the steak restaurant’s bar area and was still denied entry.

Ms Bottoms wrote in a tweet that she saw another woman enter the restaurant at the same time without issue, but did not clarify if the other woman was in similar attire.

She wrote on Twitter: “Odd that a restaurant in a mall parking lot turns away customers in ‘mall’ attire.”

“Asked if I could sit in the bar area and was told, ‘No’,” she added.

“Rules are the rules, just wonder if the woman who came in immediately after me, who I did not see come back out, was also denied service.”

According to The Capital Grille’s website, there is an enforced dress code. “For the comfort of all guests and to better deliver on our promise of a refined atmosphere, proper dress is required,” it notes.

“Thank you for not wearing: gym attire, sweatpants, tank tops, hats, clothing with offensive language or images, exposed undergarments.” There is no specific mention of leggings.

The tweet quickly gained traction online. Some users tweeted their own experiences of dining at The Capital Grille in athletic wear or seeing other patrons do so.

The Independent has contacted The Capital Grille for comment. The upscale steakhouse chain has locations in twenty-five states, the District of Columbia, and Mexico City, and is owned by Darden Restaurants, which also owns casual dining brands such as Olive Garden.

Ms Bottoms was Atlanta’s mayor from January 2018 until 2022, steering the city through the Covid-19 pandemic and unrest following the fatal police shooting of Rayshard Brooks just weeks after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

She announced that she would not be seeking reelection in May 2021.

After finishing her term in office, Ms Bottoms announced she was moving on to a “dream job” as a political commentator for CNN.