Air Force veteran and business owner Randy Freeman has filed a lawsuit against Cracker Barrel after he was kicked out of a location in Cross Lanes, Virginia.

According to Rolling Out, Freeman, owner of Distinguished Executive Transportation LLC, visited Cracker Barrel with three of his clients and ordered soft drinks. After the drinks were delivered, Freeman attempted to order food from the waitress but was refused. A few moments later, a store manager accused him of cursing at the waitress and told him to leave.

Freeman said he didn’t notice any strange behavior from the waitress, and the other people at the table refuted the claims.

“As a motor coach owner and operator, prior to the incident, I had visited Cracker Barrel’s chain on a number of occasions but not at the store where the incident occurred … I did not experience this kind of unfair treatment in the past,” Freeman said. “I was taken completely by surprise when the manager came out and made these false accusations.”

Freeman decided to leave quietly because he did not want his passengers to be affected if he was arrested.

“I was embarrassed and worried about the consequences of resisting my ejectment because I owed my ultimate responsibility to my motor coach passengers who would’ve been stranded had I been arrested for refusing to leave,” said Freeman. “So, I left without raising my voice or otherwise resisting the managers’ commands.”

Cracker Barrel has not spoken publicly about the incident, and according to Freeman’s attorney, they haven’t been contacted by the company at all.

“Cracker Barrel has failed to even acknowledge that anything improper was done at their store,” Sekou Campbell said.

Campbell criticized the company for not acknowledging Freeman since his service in the military helped secure the country’s freedom.

“Mr. Freeman fought for this country against forces trying to take away Cracker Barrel’s right to have a business and its employees to enjoy America’s freedoms. He has certainly earned the right to enjoy those same freedoms,” Campbell continued. “Simply dignifying that existence with a serious response and acknowledgement of wrongdoing is not an overly cumbersome task given Mr. Freeman’s sacrifices.”

The case made it to the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of West Virginia and is awaiting a decision.

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