Golden Corral Restaurant Apologizes For Breastfeeding Gaffe


At a Golden Corral Restaurant in upstate New York, where a mother of two was chastised by a Golden Corral manager for nursing her hungry 5-month-old daughter at a restaurant table while dining with family and friends, the managing company states it is “not their policy” and they “are very sorry” for the incident.

The mother of the baby, Tiffany Eichstadt, told CBS6 News that she was simply and discreetly nursing her daughter at a table when she was approached by the manager and asked to stop.

“The manager walked right over to me and started to tell me that I needed to go and nurse my child in the bathroom. I told her that I had the legal right to nurse wherever and however I wanted to and that I would not go to the bathroom to feed my child.”

Although she stood up for her rights, the mother felt very uncomfortable and immediately left the restaurant.

Golden Corral franchise owner Niral Patel has offered a sincere apology to Eichstadt, stating that Golden Corral is “family friendly” and it is not their policy to interfere with breastfeeding.

“Golden Corral welcomes nursing mothers and their children into our restaurants. After all, we are a family-oriented restaurant. Our manager… was just wrong. We are beyond embarrassed by this behavior and we have apologized to our guest for the incident. We have already taken steps and will continue to do so going forward to ensure that all of our managers and co-workers understand our policies so that we can consistently represent our respect for, and support of, nursing mothers.”

Although breastfeeding laws vary by state, New York has stringent laws that allow mothers to breastfeed their children in public, as do many other states. There are still many people, however, who feel it is not appropriate to nurse a baby in public. While this mindset is changing, due to the fact that approximately three-quarters of women breastfeed their infants at some point after birth, there are still some people who are not sensitive to the needs of new moms.

Miriam Labbok, director of the Caroline Global Breastfeeding Institute at the University of North Carolina, spoke about what the general attitude toward nursing mothers at places of employment should be.

“Any new employee should be orientated to customer service, which should include this issue.”

Of interest, Labbock added that she knows the Maynard family that founded Golden Corral (which is based in North Carolina), and that they are “very family-friendly and very pro-breastfeeding.”

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