Houston restaurant Turkey Leg Hut is under fire for their new dress code policy which prohibits wave caps, du-rags, baggy clothing and more in an effort to maintain a “family-friendly” environment. 

Initially, Turkey Leg Hut uploaded their original dress code to Instagram but was met with harsh criticism. They eventually uploaded a revised version to both their Facebook and Instagram accounts.

“Please know that we are a family friendly restaurant that serves all ages from children to adults daily and putting this dress code in place was necessary to ensure that all parties from our guests to our staff are dressed appropriately when in our establishment,” the restaurant wrote in a Facebook post. 

“Unfortunately, due to the attire of some guests, we were forced to put this new policy in place as we remain committed to ensuring all guests are comfortable while visiting us,” their statement continued. “We are not a club, we are a family friendly restaurant and will continue to maintain our standards as we welcome everyone to the Turkey Leg Hut!”


According to the policy, patrons are not allowed to wear excessively revealing clothing, no obscene language or baggy clothing, no house attire such as wave caps, du-rags and house shoes, no exposed underwear garments and no swimsuit attire.

The Black-owned restaurant has received mixed reviews about their new grooming mandate, with some people calling it “anti-Black.”

“Sounds anti-Black to me but okay. (And yes, I know they’re Black owned.) I said what I said,” a Facebook user wrote in the comments. 

“Some place called Turkey Leg Hut posted this dress code on their Instagram page, a Twitter user wrote along with a screenshot of the restaurant’s original attire policy. “I’ve been to weddings with more relaxed dress codes.”

Some Twitter users took the dress code policy with a grain of salt and decided to poke fun at the situation in a series of hilarious tweets about the new dress code. 

Turkey Leg Hut, which was established in 2015, is nationally known for its turkey legs smothered in various dressings like crawfish macaroni and their deep fried Cajun platters. In addition, the restaurant has also become a staple in Houston’s Third Ward community for having an upbeat environment that offers music, unique cocktails, desserts and hookah.

"It’s bizarre that a black owned business would make a list of stereotypes and even black specific rules like bonnet and durag- who else wears those? so does it make more sense coming from black people or does it make it worse?" a Twitter user wrote. 

Turkey Leg Hut's dress code comes after a gynecologist office at St. Francis Hospital in Columbus, Georgia banned patients from wearing similar items including pajamas, slippers and hair bonnets. The office has since removed the sign and apologized, as Blavity previously reported. 


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