Atlanta Ex-Mayor Denied Seating at Restaurant Over 'Yoga Pants,' Suggests Race Played a Factor

Staff at an Atlanta restaurant allegedly refused to seat the former Mayor of the city, citing the establishment's strictly-enforced business casual dress code as reasoning.

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms took to X (formerly Twitter) to share her experiences at an Atlanta-area restaurant she was denied from because she was wearing yoga pants.

"I was AGAIN told by a hostess that I could not be seated in an Atlanta area restaurant (not the same one as last time) because I had on "yoga" pants, which was supposedly against their "strictly enforced" business casual policy," wrote a frustrated Bottoms. "After I pointed out that there were patrons, none of whom looked like me, who had on shorts, baseball caps, and flip flops in the restaurant, the manager offered to seat us, in the not so full restaurant, in an hour. It can't just be me."

This is not the first time Bottoms has grappled with being denied service because of her choice of dress. In April of 2022, the former Mayor was turned away from the Perimeter Mall location of steakhouse Capital Grille for wearing leggings, which the restaurant considered to be "gym attire".

"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.'," wrote Bottoms on Twitter. "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."

Bottoms did not share the name of the recent restaurant that denied her due to concerns for the safety and wellbeing of restaurant staff.

"I'm not sharing the name of the restaurant this time, because I was told the last time I did, people called and threatened the staff," she wrote. "But, I would like to know if others are having this experience."