A restaurant based in Washington, D.C., is facing misguided backlash after the owner of an eatery with the same name asked White House press secretary Sarah Sanders to leave due to her role in the White House.

Good morning! @PressSec went to the unaffiliated @RedHenLex last night, not to our DC-based restaurant," The Red Hen in D.C. tweeted.

[Related: Trump slams 'filthy' Red Hen restaurant after it kicked out Sarah Sanders]



Good morning! @PressSec went to the unaffiliated @RedHenLex last night, not to our DC-based restaurant. — The Red Hen (@RedHenDC) June 23, 2018



The Lexington, Va.-based Red Hen restaurant refused service to Sanders specifically due to the administration's stance on transgender people serving in the military, the owner said.

"Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA to leave because I work for @POTUS and I politely left. Her actions say far more about her than about me. I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so," Sanders tweeted on Saturday.

Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA to leave because I work for @POTUS and I politely left. Her actions say far more about her than about me. I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so — Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) June 23, 2018



Days after the incident, the D.C.-based Red Hen is still fending off people who have either confused the two restaurants, or believe they are affiliated with one another.

Michael Friedman, a co-owner of the Red Hen in Washington, said they had received emails, calls, negative Yelp reviews, and death threats. Friedman also said someone egged the restaurant over the weekend, the Washingtonian reports.

According to Yelp, the restaurant's page is being monitored for content that appeared to be linked to the recent media reports. However, as of Monday afternoon, the page still had dozens of negative reviews pointing to the incident involving Sanders.





As the business continued to take heat in person and on Yelp, the D.C. restaurant's social media team provided some comic relief on Twitter by using GIFs to clarify its independence from the Virginia restaurant.



It’s almost like all of our logos are of the same animal we’re named after or something. pic.twitter.com/iFc33FQkGj — The Red Hen (@RedHenDC) June 24, 2018