Arkansas Governor Sanders Asked to Leave Little Rock Restaurant Over Security Concerns

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders finished her lunch, paid her bill, and had been sitting at The Croissanterie in Little Rock for roughly an hour before the restaurant's owner walked over to a member of her Arkansas State Police Executive Protection Detail on March 13 and asked her party to leave.

Sanders said the owner told her security that her presence was making employees feel "threatened." The restaurant, in a subsequent statement, directly disputed that characterization. "To clarify, we do not recall any statements indicating that anyone felt threatened," The Croissanterie said. "Ultimately, we made the decision to support our employees and guests who expressed they were uncomfortable."

The two accounts agree on the basic facts: Sanders arrived with two companions and her security detail, was served a meal, and then left at the restaurant's request. Everything else is contested.

Sanders first told her version to The Daily Wire and later posted about it on X. "Last week I was having lunch with two other moms at a restaurant when the owner approached a member of the State Police Executive Protection Detail and said my presence made their employees feel 'threatened' and told us to leave," she wrote. She added that as her party exited, a person standing with restaurant staff shouted "it's time to leave" and gave her the middle finger. "Arkansans are known for their warm hospitality, and while that restaurant certainly doesn't meet that standard, my administration will continue to focus on lifting Arkansans up, not tearing others down with discrimination and hate," Sanders said.

The Croissanterie framed its decision differently: "Allowing her to stay risked being perceived as a lack of support for the community that makes up the majority of our team, as well as their families and friends. Conversely, asking her to leave could be viewed as denying service based on differing beliefs." The restaurant acknowledged the bind it faced but said supporting its staff came first.

At least one employee went public. Zachary Hickman posted on Facebook the morning after news broke: "no amount of evil you send our way can ever take our smiles away!!! I'm proud af to work here! I'm proud af to be gay and I'm proud af to be an Arkansan. My voice matters. Try again."

The incident is the second time Sanders has been asked to leave a restaurant because of her political associations. In 2018, while serving as White House press secretary for President Donald Trump, the co-owner of The Red Hen in Lexington, Virginia, asked Sanders and her family to leave in protest of the Trump administration. That restaurant closed in 2023.

The presence of an executive protection detail adds a layer specific to this incident that the Red Hen situation did not involve. Sanders' security is standard protocol for a sitting governor, but for a small restaurant, an armed plainclothes protective unit occupying a dining room for more than an hour is not a routine part of the lunch service. The Croissanterie said it was "surprised and uncertain how best to respond" when it learned Sanders had arrived, suggesting the security presence factored into the calculus even if the restaurant's public statement centered on employee comfort rather than safety logistics.

Sanders and her party complied and left without incident beyond what she described as the parting gesture from a staff member. No formal complaints or law-enforcement action have been reported.