When Aireal Bonner walked into Southern Kitchen & Bar that August night, she expected dinner, not humiliation. Staff claimed her crocheted top broke a “no bikini” rule, but she saw a double standard—especially after spotting the bar’s own social media flaunting similarly dressed, mostly non-Black women. Being asked to leave after she was already seated made the encounter feel less like policy and more like profiling.
The restaurant apologized for timing, not treatment, and promised better protocols. Bonner refused to accept that half-measure. She urged people to speak out, and they did—so loudly Yelp had to pull the page. Alabama Rally Against Injustice joined in, organizing protests and framing the incident as part of a broader pattern: dress codes used as a shield for discrimination. The law may allow private rules, they argued, but communities don’t have to accept them when they wound in plain sight.
