VANCOUVER, B.C. – Earls Kitchen + Bar is facing another customer-related backlash. A B.C. tribunal is determining if a high chair is a human right, following a complaint filed by a Vancouver father.
Philip Ryan claims he has visited multiple Earls’ locations and none of them provide high chairs for young children. He also says one location told him providing high chairs is not company policy.
Earls applied to have the lawsuit thrown out, but was denied on April 27.
According to Huffingtonpost.ca, Earls says its company policy doesn’t refuse high chairs outright, but some of its locations do not provide them. Earls also claims it offered Ryan a booth seat so he could eat while holding his young child in his lap.
This is not the first time this complaint has been raised with Earls. In 2006, the CBC reported a story of frustrated parents complaining about the lack of high chairs available at various Earls locations. Earls responded by saying it tries to balance its sales opportunities through business and family clientele.
The negative press comes on the heels of the chain’s highly controversial decision to stop using Alberta beef products — a decision it has since reversed.
