Dear CEO of Ignite Restaurant Group,

I was a server at Joe’s Crab Shack for six months, and I have come back intermittently on breaks from college to help my manager out with holidays and such. I’ve worked at many places since I started my first job at 16 and let me just say that working at Joe’s Crab Shack has been the best job I’ve ever had; the managers, my coworkers, the clientele- everyone has made it a wonderful experience to work for this company. I’ve worked at other restaurants and Joe’s is the only one that I’ve ever been excited about going to work for. I never dread walking into a shift at Joe’s; I know that I’ll make money, have a few laughs, and be comfortable in my tie dye t-shirt and jeans, and with the people around me.

So imagine my surprise when I came back to work for Mother's Day and saw this shirt hanging on the wall.

For some reason, my first question was “is this the company’s stance?” But upon further thought, I realized that knowing the answer to that question doesn’t really matter. I wouldn’t throw down my apron and quit if I found out that Joe’s Crab Shack endorsed Donald Trump for president. I might question why you hire illegal immigrants, but I wouldn’t stomp out and boycott your company.

One of my coworkers said “I don’t see a shirt with the ‘Stronger Together’ logo,” and though she had a point, that wasn’t my problem with the shirt. Another one of my coworkers who’s been with the company for many years said that she could defend the Trump inspired shirt, if and only if Joe’s had produced an Obama inspired shirt four years earlier, of which you did not. Another server thought it was a geographical issue; we are disgusted by the shirt because we are in a blue state, but perhaps the shirt will receive more positive reviews in red states. My manager thinks it’s supposed to be funny, that you intended this as a joke, but if that’s the case, I wonder who’s supposed to be laughing- the illegal cooks? The servers who work their asses off for their tax dollars to go toward building a wall? The bartenders who will likely not have access to healthcare in the coming year? Who is this joke intended for?

I take issue with this shirt because working in a restaurant is like being on a first date, there are three topics you’re not supposed to talk about- sex, religion, and politics. The shirts that hang on the wall are the shirts that servers, bartenders, and hosts are supposed to wear to greet the guests at the door, take them to their table, and serve them food and drinks in. If I wore this shirt at work, it could be deeply offensive to a handful of my guests and coworkers. I’m not up in arms about a Clinton inspired shirt being hung next to the Trump one, because the political party is irrelevant and offense could be taken to a Clinton shirt as well. A restaurant (especially a chain restaurant) is not the place for politics. It could cause friction between employees which makes for a hostile work environment, which is never what Joe’s Crab Shack has been, in fact, it’s always been the exact opposite- a fun loving environment. This shirt could lead your employees to be judge-mental of their coworkers for their political views, which could cause rifts between them. Some of my coworkers have expressed embarrassment that this shirt is one of the first things guests see when they walk in the door. Is that how you want your employees to feel about working for Joe’s Crab Shack? And being that this shirt begs for a political discussion, it could leave guests with a bad taste in their mouths (and not because of the delicious Queen crab).

If you wanted to make a statement, you’ve done that, but I’m just in shock that a company that is preparing to file for bankruptcy would put forth such a controversial shirt that could potentially hurt, rather than help you. I urge you to take this shirt off the racks before it causes you to lose patrons or potential employees. Your company motto is “Peace, Love & Crabs” not “Politics, Love & Crabs.”