To the Western world, it’s a surprising thing to see.
One Starbucks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has a sign with the phrase, “Please no entrance for ladies.”
The sign went up after a wall segregating families and single people when entering the coffee house fell down.
The temporary solution has been to ban women from entering the Starbucks.
The full sign says, “PLEASE NO ENTRY FOR LADIES ONLY SEND YOUR DRIVER TO ORDER THANK YOU.”
It was first noticed in the social media world on Monday when someone going by “Manar M” tweeted, “#Starbucks store in Riyadh refused 2 serve me just because I’m a WOMAN & asked me 2 send a man instead.”
Others began tweeting the sign and it started popping up on Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere.
“Unreal. Starbucks in Saudi Arabia refused to serve women,” tweeted Muhammad Lila.
Manar M followed up by comparing the sign to signs from the segregated United States decades ago.
Starbucks issued the following statement to CNN: “At Starbucks, we adhere to the local customs of Saudi Arabia by providing separate entrances for families as well as single people. In addition, all our stores provide equal amenities, service, menu, and seating to men, women and families.”
The statement continues: “We are working as quickly as possible as we refurbish our Jarir store so that we may again welcome all customers in accordance with local customs.”
