Can a restaurant legally refuse a customer?

Can a restaurant legally refuse a customer? There are many types of restaurants and each of them chooses a target market. There are businesses located on the beach that hope that bathers come to enjoy their offer and of course, they will come in shorts, pullovers, and flip flops. On the other hand, there are restaurants located in five-star hotels, or exclusive areas of the city, that want their customers to comply with a certain label. However, that reality does not give any restaurant owner legal authority to discriminate on the basis of religion, national origin, race, or sex -the Civil Rights Act of 1964-.

That is, you can establish dress codes in businesses, but this code must affect all customers equally. For example, the law prohibits a customer from being denied entry to a black-tie venue for wearing shorts if there are other people in the venue wearing shorts.

The goal of any business is to make a profit. These benefits can only be generated through the good treatment of their customers. However, there are multiple reasons that justify legally denying entry or service to a customer. For example, service may be denied to a customer whose rude or dangerous acts affect other customers in the restaurant. A customer can be prevented from entering when a restaurant has reached its maximum capacity or if they are not serving food at the time because they are about to close. The law allows rejecting a client who wants to enter with his pet -dog, cat, monkey, etc- to the restaurant unless it is a service dog, protected by the American disability law.

Remember, having good commercial insurance could help you in the event of a client\’s possible claims for damages. Can a restaurant legally refuse a customer?

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