Editor's Note: On Wednesday, transgender activist Emmett Schelling clarified the dog brought into the Nashville IHOP was not a service dog but "an emotional support animal." Schelling told The News he continues to believe the group was denied service "due to our gender identity."

AUSTIN — A group of transgender activists says they were laughed at and denied service at an IHOP in downtown Nashville on Monday.

The activists, in town for a meeting of Southern LGBTQ advocacy leaders, said a waitress initially refused to help them because they brought along a service dog. Then, after explaining the situation with the dog and asking for another server, the group said the restaurant's employees continued to seat and serve other patrons "while leering and staring — but never coming to help our table."

"As we waited there longer and longer without anyone taking our order, it became clear they were more interested in whispering and gawking [at] our group than coming to take our orders," Emmett Schelling, executive director of the Transgender Education Network of Texas, told The Dallas Morning News. "Using the service animal initially was a thinly veiled cover-up to discriminate against our group."

Transgender Education Network of Texas Executive Director Emmett Schelling say he and other trans activists were denied service at a Nashville IHOP on Monday, May 21, 2018. (Emmett Schelling Facebook Page)

Immediately after the incident, Schelling wrote a Facebook post asking friends to reach out to IHOP to protest their treatment. He said, "We wasted a total of about 30-45 minutes waiting for a staff to come help us that obviously had no intention of doing that due to their obvious personal bias against who we are. How incredibly frustrating, sad, and maddening."

IHOP responded to the incident, saying the franchisee was aware of the complaint and will "use this as a coaching opportunity with the entire restaurant team."

"In listening to the guests who contacted the restaurant directly, the franchisee understands the group felt overlooked due to having a service animal with them," Stephanie Peterson with IHOP public relations told The News. "The brand and our operators are committed to inclusion and making all guests feel welcome. The franchisee is in the process of reaching out to the guests to apologize for the disappointing service they received today."

Several of Schelling's lunch companions work for the Transgender Law Center, a national advocacy organization run by and for trans men and women. They are in Nashville for a leadership training meeting of Southerners On New Ground, an regional advocacy group for disabled, immigrant, unauthorized or working-class LGBTQ people who live in the American South.

Jill Marcellus, director of communications for the law center, said they are "deeply concerned" by the accounts and have reached out to IHOP for an explanation.

"Too often, transgender people face discrimination when simply going about our lives or trying to get a meal, particularly transgender people of color and transgender people with disabilities," Marcellus told The News. "Nobody should be denied service because of who they are."