A woman who dined solo at a Portland, Ore., eatery on Valentine’s Day is now suing the restaurant because she claims she received rude service.
Local small-business owner Kathleen Hampton is seeking $100,000 from Enzo’s Caffe Italiano. Hampton originally made a dinner reservation for herself and her husband, but, as she notes in the lawsuit, he “was still full from lunch” so he decided to bail, leaving Hampton to fly solo.
Once she was seated, Hampton said a waitress told her she had to give up her table and leave before she’d ordered any food. To be reasonable, Hampton said she’d just get her food to go, but the restaurant refused.
“That was the final straw,” she writes in the lawsuit. “I’ve never heard of a food place not having to go.”
Restaurant owner Enzo Lanzadoro, however, told the Oregonian that he remembers the night differently.
“She made reservation for two and when she got there, said: ‘Oh just by myself,'” Lanzadoro said. “We offered for her to sit at the bar with other single diners since Valentine’s Day is very busy and all we know is she got up [from the table] and left without paying after she drank two glasses of wine.”
In addition to the $100,000, Hampton, who’s representing herself, wants a public apology both in person and in local newspapers.