Woman buys 20 homeless people Taco Bell meals, employees then tell them to leave restaurant

LOUISVILLE — After a woman bought dinner for 20 homeless people at a Kentucky Taco Bell, employees told them to leave the restaurant.

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Shannon Gridley was driving Tuesday when she saw three people beneath an overpass. She stopped and asked if they were hungry, WHAS reported.

She ended up inviting about 20 people to get dinner for at a Taco Bell.

The group walked in around 7:30 p.m. and ordered. Gridley said they were told they could not use the bathroom. Five people in the group who had gotten their food were told they could not sit and eat it.

Gridley asked to talk to a manager but no one showed. Rather, they were told to leave the restaurant even as some of the people in the group were still ordering.

"It is dehumanizing. They wouldn't even let them in the bathroom to wash their hands before they eat," Gridley told WHAS. "It was purely because they're homeless that they were being discriminated against."

The restaurant staff is expected to undergo re-training, officials said.

"Taco Bell is committed to creating a space that's welcoming and safe for all people, while maintaining an environment free of discrimination or harassment," Taco Bell officials told WHAS. "The franchise organization that owns and operates this location is looking into the matter and will be proactively retraining its team members on its policies. Knowing that homelessness is an unfortunate issue in this area especially, the franchisee looks forward to connecting with local organizations to see how they can help and work better together in the future."