Enforced Dress Code for Olive Garden’s Sister Restaurant in Minnesota

Can you imagine if every restaurant that you went to enforced a particular dress code? I'm not talking about the standard "no shoes no shirt no service", I mean where they can dictate what you are wearing in order to dine in their establishment.

A DRESS CODE COULD DRIVE PERCEPTION A COUPLE OF WAYS

That could go one of two ways.  It could either draw more people because diners feel as though it's a fine dining establishment, and might go there just because of that reason. Or it could go totally the other way, and people wouldn't go because they think that particular restaurant is too pretentious and expensive.

OLIVE GARDEN PARENT COMPANY DOES ENFORCE A DRESS CODE IN SOME OF THEIR RESTAURANTS

Olive Garden, which has been in the St. Cloud area for several years, is owned by a parent company (Darden Restaurants) that also owns several other restaurants.  Some of those include Longhorn Steakhouse and Capital Grille.

WHAT IS THE DRESS CODE AT THESE RESTAURANTS

This is the dress code that Capital Grille enforces:

• Specific Rules: Collared shirts, blazers, dress trousers, dark denim, and loafers or dress shoes for men. 

WHAT IS THE RULE IF YOU DO HAVE A DRESS CODE FOR YOUR RESTAURANT/BAR

The city of Minneapolis has made an ordinance regarding a dress code where alcohol is served.  The ordinance states that the dress code has to be plainly visible as customers enter the restaurant.  The purpose of this is so that they cannot claim that someone is improperly dressed after they have already come in, possibly had drinks and/or food.  It's called "velvet rope discrimination".

This is an ordinance that probably should be implemented anywhere where restaurants/bars have a dress code.  It would just make things easier.  But if I know people, and we all do, there would probably be a complaint about the dress code itself stating that it's a form of discrimination.  So that should be fun.