Stouthaus Coffee Apologizes After Breastfeeding Social Media Controversy

Sunset Valley's Stouthaus Coffee apologized to public breastfeeding advocates after a furious social media campaign. After a woman was asked to cover up while breastfeeding at the cafe, the coffee shop's Facebook page was bombarded with a flurry of negative reviews and comments. Stouthaus has stated that, going forward, the policy is now revised.

Yesterday morning, Stephanie Barlow Scott was dismayed when an employee approached her breastfeeding friend with a towel, according to KXAN. Scott informed the news channel that while her friend was nursing her 8-month-old, a woman approached them "and asked ‘if she wanted to cover up?’ and my friend said ‘No, am I making you uncomfortable?'"

After the incident, Scott took to Facebook to post a review on the coffee shop’s page, cautioning others that "nursing mothers are not welcome" and that while the employee who asked her friend to cover up "wasn’t uncomfortable but there were a lot of men there and they probably were." Someone handling Stouthaus’s page commented on her review, writing that while they appreciate nursing mothers, "as a restaurant and public establishment (and as a man, myself), we simply ask that the respect we offer to you would be mutual towards our patrons and staff."

The review and response provoked outrage from breastfeeding supporters, who left negative reviews and comments on Facebook. Last night, Sandy Hughes, co-owner of Stouthaus, posted an apology on the page, citing that the matter was a mistake and that breastfeeding mothers are always welcomed at the coffee shop:

As a former breastfeeding mother of two, I fully support this practice, covered or not. We are new business owners and have made a mistake that we will learn from and move forward with. I understand that a written apology cannot convey my heart, but we are a husband-and-wife run, "pro-family" business. And we really do love our community, our city and the right to breastfeed openly.

Commenters acknowledged the apology through updated reviews and comments, while others still want to hear from the person at Stouthaus that commented on Scott’s review.

(h/t Reddit)