A mother from Florida reported an unsettling experience at a well-known riverside restaurant in Georgia, where she claims the owner yelled at her for breastfeeding her baby. She filmed the incident, capturing him shouting, “Get out of here!”
Alice Kopiec recounted that the confrontation took place at Toccoa Riverside Restaurant in Blue Ridge, quickly gaining traction online and stirring discussions about how families are treated at such establishments.
During dinner with her husband, their three daughters—ages 4, 2, and 4 months—and a family friend, she said the baby began to cry. She tried to discreetly cover her child while managing the other kids.
As Kopiec was preparing to head outside with her older children, she bumped into a chair, which led the restaurant owner to approach her. “He looked at me and said, ‘You can’t do that here,’” she recalled, noting that she wasn’t breastfeeding at that moment.
The confrontation escalated when she calmly informed him about Georgia’s laws protecting public breastfeeding. “I told him that if he wanted to protect his restaurant, he should follow the law,” she said, recounting how he became increasingly agitated.
After her friend took a photo of him, Kopiec began recording, capturing his aggressive demeanor as he yelled at her while she held her baby.
Feeling upset and somewhat guilty after the incident, she stated, “To be honest, I felt like I was in the wrong…but I told myself that women have a legal right to breastfeed.”
Tim Richter, identified as the restaurant’s owner, has faced public criticism, especially since the restaurant has previously drawn attention for an “adult surcharge” imposed on parents. Reports indicate that some parents complained about being reprimanded for their children’s behavior.
Wildly varying reactions have emerged online, with users debating the respect for breastfeeding and the treatment of mothers in public. Expert Alison Cheperdak weighed in, stating that while mothers should explain calmly, there should never be a lack of respect from restaurant staff.
Kopiec expressed hope that this incident might inspire change, emphasizing that breastfeeding mothers deserve safety and respect, wishing for a more welcoming environment in the future.
