No praying at Steak 'N' Shake!

[snopes]

Attention Christians:!!!!!

Be careful where you eat.. this incident happened here in Albany, GA., but
apparently it is Steak 'N' Shake policy. Send this out to all your
friends and relatives wherever they may be. Let our Christian voices be heard!!

This is an incident that just recently happened right here in Albany, Georgia, a few weeks ago:

A local church youth group was returning from a church outing &
decided to stop in at the Steak 'n' Shake in Albany, Georgia to eat. There
were a dozen or more teenagers around the age of 16 year of age and a few
adults. The teenagers were sitting together, in one area of the
restaurant.

The parents were at a different table giving the teenagers some "privacy".
Everyone ordered & received their food. One of the teenager's stood
up & told the group to be quiet for the blessing of the food. The teenager
said the blessing out loud over their food. Several of the other customers
bowed their heads.

After the grace (prayer) was over, the Steak 'n' Shake Manager came
over to the young guy & started lecturing the teenager on Steak & Shake's
policy, informed him that the practice of public prayer was illegal. She
told him that he was not allowed to pray out loud in Steak & Shake
Restaurants, and that if he did it again they would be asked to leave. She
was shaking her finger in his face, criticizing & ridiculing him for
praying out loud in the Steak 'n' Shake Restaurant. This was mainly a group of
teenagers who didn't realize the ramifications of this action. One of the
adults did stepped up to the manager & told her (the manager) that she
didn't need to be attacking the teenager.

One of the adult who was there (who I would trust more than any of
the teenagers) said that some of the waitresses came over after the
incident and told the teenager that they supported him and gave him the
name of the manager who just did this and a number to call and complain.
This was done behind the back of the manager who "laid down the law", which is
understandable since it is company policy, they could be fired for
breaking the rules. The teenage youth doesn't want to get anybody in trouble, and
won't provide the name of the offending party.

Later, after hearing of this incident, one of the youth group's
parent or grandparent called the Albany Steak 'n' Shake Restaurant and asked to
speak to the manager. She asked the person who answered the phone about the
incident, and they told her the General Manager was coming in the next day and
she should call back then and talk to them.

She called back the next day, told the story of the incident, and
was told by the General Manager that it is indeed the policy of Steak 'n'
Shake Restaurants. That you may pray, but praying out loud could disturb or
offend the other customers and you may be asked to leave. Steak 'n' Shake
has a "no vocal prayer policy". If you break that rule, you may be asked to leave.

The teenager who prayed was not asked to leave, in fact, nobody left
when the manager did this, and I believe they should have gotten up, left
the food right there on the tables & without paying walked out.

The teenagers are terrified that this is going to get somebody in trouble and
wants no part of any protest.

As a Christian Adult, I feel it is just another attack on
Christians. We have lost prayer in our public schools, lost prayer at school
games & school functions. They are trying to take God out of the Government
buildings, off our money, etc. I sure don't want to lose my right to give
thanks over my food to the Lord who provided it to me in public.

Business are supported by our "In God We Trust" dollars. The
customers "vote" for the businesses they like with their "In God We Trust"
dollars. As a Christian, I will vote to eat at restaurants where I am
allowed to pray. I will also vote to eat at restaurants where I can take a
Christian group or go with a Christian group to eat & be able to pray out
loud.

As a Christian, I'm outraged, & wasn't sure what to do. So I took it
to the Lord (I prayed) & God answered right away. He told me to tell all
the world - I feel that I should tell people, so they could make an informed
decision. There are probably other restaurants out there that feel the
same way, but if Christians stick together we can at least make them miss our
business!

What is this teaching our youth & children? That they can't pray in
public places or bless their food?

Please forward this to everyone on your E-mail list.

Christians need to know & be heard, we've been silent long enough.

God Bless You!

PS. I would like to hear any feed back you might have on this incident or if
you've encountered a similar incident or experience in any particular restaurant.

[Tootsie Plunkette]

Originally Posted by snopes

Christians need to know & be heard, we've been silent long enough.

Riiight...

[Cervus]

Originally Posted by snopes

He told me to tell all the world - I feel that I should tell people, so they could make an informed decision.

Oh, I already have.

[Ryda Wong, EBfCo.]

If I stood up and started reciting Howl in the middle of Steak n' Shake, how much you wanna bet they'd ask me to stop?

If the incident is true, it could be more about loud public speech annoying other patrons than 'anti-christian' bias.

[Cervus]

Originally Posted by Ryda Wong, EBfCo.

If I stood up and started reciting Howl in the middle of Steak n' Shake, how much you wanna bet they'd ask me to stop?

Asking might work, but I think it would be more effective if they threw potato salad at you.

[niner]

Originally Posted by Ryda Wong, EBfCo.

If I stood up and started reciting Howl in the middle of Steak n' Shake, how much you wanna bet they'd ask me to stop?

If the incident is true, it could be more about loud public speech annoying other patrons than 'anti-christian' bias.

I'd be willing to bet that's the case also. My guess is that the manager said something like this:

That you may pray, but praying out loud could disturb or
offend the other customers and you may be asked to leave.

and the already-offended Christian Adults read into it this:

Steak 'n' Shake
has a "no vocal prayer policy". If you break that rule, you may be asked to leave.

Of course, how the manager actually handled it, and how loudly the youth was praying, and how much the Christian Adults were looking for a cause to champion all would affect how this came to be an email petition.

Henry B

[moonfall]

If this is true, the manager is incorrect. Public prayer is not illegal. I think I'm going to ask about this "policy" next time I go to S&S. I seem to remember my family saying grace (not loudly) at a Steak n Shake, and no one said anything.

[Venus]

i worked at a steak&shake for 8 months about 2 years ago and never heard of that policy.

[Rachael]

I'm willing to bet that if the manager came out, they were praying pretty loudly. I don't think any restaurant would bother people who are quietly praying out loud, any more than they would bother a couple talking about the game on Friday. But once they reach a certain noise level, it makes sense that they would step in.

I wouldn't be surprised if this is one of those "Shout aloud! Don't be afraid to show your love for Jesus!" groups...

[Jonny T]

Originally Posted by moonfall

If this is true, the manager is incorrect. Public prayer is not illegal. I think I'm going to ask about this "policy" next time I go to S&S. I seem to remember my family saying grace (not loudly) at a Steak n Shake, and no one said anything.

who said anything about it being "illegal"? this is an issue of this particular restaurant's policy, not the law.

and in this case, I get the feeling they were being a little too loud, were asked to keep it down, and read it as opposition to prayer rather than to loud/disturbing behaviour.

(I'm reminded of the prayer-group-in-common-room story covered here a while ago...)

[Dactyl]

Having never been been to a Steak n Shake it's somewhat difficult to comment but the OP is lacking in details:

- How full was the restaurant?
- Was this prayer said loudly to be heard by the rest of the restaurant?
- How long did it go on for?

A short prayer said so the relevant people could hear and the manager could have used his discretion. A recreation of the Sermon on the Mount and I could understand his objection.

On a slight aside, the "Shake" part of the name refer to Milkshakes or to Steak toppings?

[Tarquin Farquart]

Originally Posted by Dactyl

On a slight aside, the "Shake" part of the name refer to Milkshakes or to Steak toppings?

Maybe the steaks are shaken?

[hambubba]

A google search doesn't turn up anything on this.

However, google says there are quite a few Christian (and other) groups that apparently hold regular meetings at Steak 'N Shake, and I doubt they are very silent.

[pinqy]

Originally Posted by Jonny T

who said anything about it being "illegal"? this is an issue of this particular restaurant's policy, not the law.

Allegedly the manager:

the Steak 'n' Shake Manager came
over to the young guy & started lecturing the teenager on Steak & Shake's
policy, informed him that the practice of public prayer was illegal.

pinqy

[Lainie]

Originally Posted by Dactyl

On a slight aside, the "Shake" part of the name refer to Milkshakes or to Steak toppings?

Milkshakes. Delicious milkshakes, made with real milk and ice cream and toppings mixed with a blender.

Originally Posted by Jonny T

who said anything about it being "illegal"? this is an issue of this particular restaurant's policy, not the law.

The OP did:

After the grace (prayer) was over, the Steak 'n' Shake Manager came
over to the young guy & started lecturing the teenager on Steak & Shake's
policy, informed him that the practice of public prayer was illegal.

[kismet]

1. MMMM, Steak & Shake milkshakes are yummmmmy.
2. The noise level at an average Steak & Shake is like that of your average McDonalds. If the prayer was noticable to the manager, it was probably quite loud.
3. I'm pretty sure Jesus suggested that prayer should not be done loudly in public places to show off. So actually, Steak & Shake's policy is similar to Jesus' policy on the same topic.

[BlushingBride]

Anecdotally...

My husband blesses every meal we eat (one of the consequences of marrying your Sunday School teacher!). So, even if we're eating out, we hold hands and say grace. We usually do it pretty discreetly if we're amidst a group (people usually don't even notice), but when just the two of us are dining, we hold hands on top of the table and say it out loud, although still at the volume of quiet conversation.

We have had dinner in Steak & Shake before. Not only were we not chastized, but the employee who was bringing over something or other that we were waiting on waited until we finished before setting down the food. If they had a no-vocal-prayer rule, they didn't enforce it then.

I suspect that the manager chastized the teens for being loud and disruptive, and the parents creatively interpreted her actions, and then they told someone else who creatively interpreted...

[Jonny T]

my mistake

[Don Enrico]

Originally Posted by Dactyl

- Was this prayer said loudly to be heard by the rest of the restaurant?

There were a dozen or more teenagers around the age of 16 year of age and a few adults. The teenagers were sitting together, in one area of the
restaurant.

(...) One of the teenager's stood up & told the group to be quiet for the blessing of the food. The teenager said the blessing out loud over their food. Several of the other customers bowed their heads.

If you tell a group of a dozen teenagers sitting at a sufficiently long table to be quiet, you need to do that loudly.

If other customers bowed their heads for the prayer, they obviously could hear it.

I guess the prayer was said out quite loudly.

Don Enrico

[Buckle Up]

Originally Posted by Tarquin Farquart

Maybe the steaks are shaken?

Maybe the group went there because they were charismatic and erroneously thought the "shake" referred to being filled with the Holy Spirit.