The San Francisco Police Officers Association is slamming a local bakery chain for refusing to serve officers in uniform because it says armed police officers make “people of color, youth, and queer people” feel less safe.
The bakery’s claims come as a crime wave is overtaking the once-great City by the Bay and businesses and residents are leaving in droves.
Crime is so bad in San Francisco that the California Highway Patrol and even the California National Guard were enlisted earlier this year to try and provide assistance to local police.
Yet with nearly every metric of crime on the rise, the Reem’s bakery chain — which has locations in San Francisco and Oakland — is banning police from its premises.
The San Francisco Police Officers Association blasted the bakery on social media Thursday for telling officers they are not welcome in a city drowning in crime and violence.
“NO COPS ALLOWED. That’s the confirmed policy of the bakery chain Reem’s. One of our officers was denied service last weekend because he was in uniform. Reem’s confirms that they will not serve anyone armed and in uniform. Presumably, this includes members of the US Military,” the police group posted on X.
In a second post, the union added, “We are not asking Reem’s or any business with a bigoted policy to serve our officers. We’re asking them to own their discriminatory policy & and put up a sign so we know not to spend money in your establishment — on or off duty. We took the liberty of designing one for them.”
We are not asking Reem’s or any business with a bigoted policy to serve our officers. We’re asking them to own their discriminatory policy & and put up a sign so we know not to spend money in your establishment—on or off duty. We took the liberty of designing one for them. pic.twitter.com/aITQFLOFG0
— San Francisco POA (@SanFranciscoPOA) August 24, 2023
In a statement sent to the San Francisco Chronicle and posted to social media Friday, Reem’s attempted to explain its position.
“Reem’s has a deep commitment to uplifting social and racial justice in our communities,” the bakery blathered. “This includes fostering an environment of safety for our staff and customers.
“In a time of increased gun violence — particularly impacting people of color, youth, and queer people — we believe that maintaining a strict policy of prohibiting guns in our restaurant keeps us safer.”
“Many members of our community have been impacted by gun violence, whether that be an experience on the streets of San Francisco or Oakland, having come from war or occupation, or having increased fear due to a growing climate of political extremism,” the statement continued, without any indication of what it meant by “political extremism.”
“All too often, Black and brown people, and poor people are the victims of this violence,” it said.
“At Reems, we aim to provide a space where people can eat delicious Arab food and work together to strengthen our community, without fear of violence or harassment. We invite our community to step up and join us in creating that culture of care and resilience,” the absurd statement concluded.
Reem’s did not seem to dispute the police union’s charges. Did you notice the bakery did not say police officers are welcome?
San Francisco Police Officers Association President Tracy McCray told the Chronicle the policy specifically targeted armed officers in uniform.
“That is exactly what they said their policy was. That is what their employee told our officer,” McCray told the Chronicle. “And this is our point, if you’re going to have policies that discriminate against one group of people, then own it, post it publicly, and let your potential customers make the decision that best reflects their values.”
The Western Journal reached out to the bakery for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Reem’s is not the first San Francisco business to try and ban police officers.
Early this year, a pizza shop employee was fired after he told several officers that they were “not welcome” to eat at the restaurant.
In 2021, the restaurant Hilda and Jesse backtracked on its anti-cop policy and apologized after a backlash arose when managers demanded that an officer leave the dining area.
All this comes as San Francisco is seeing one business after another closing up shop because of rampant crime.
Since 2020, 23 major retailers have fled the city and shut down stores, some of which had been open for decades.
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More than 10,000 cases of larceny or theft have been reported in the city this year, according to the SFPD, and that has driven stores such as Coco Republic, Whole Foods, Anthropologie and T-Mobile to shutter their San Francisco locations.
Nordstrom, which closed down this month, had been serving San Francisco for 35 years, according to KGO-TV.
One would think that with rising thefts, assaults, murders and other violent crimes in the city, Reem’s customers might feel a bit safer with a uniformed police officer sitting at the next table. But apparently that doesn’t apply to the leftist residents of the Bay Area.
