An Egyptian woman said she was asked to leave a Sizzler restaurant after the restaurant manager attempted to stop her friend from praying inside the Mall of Arabia branch, prompting the restaurant chain to apologize and suspend the employee involved.
Sizzler Steak House, a restaurant chain operating in Egypt since 2014, said the incident was an “unacceptable individual act” that does not reflect its policies, after the woman, Nada Metwally, detailed the incident in a Facebook post.
According to Metwally, she was dining at the restaurant with friends, including mothers and children, when one of her friends needed to perform the noon prayer before the prayer time ended.
Metwally said her friend performed ablution in the mall restroom before asking restaurant staff where she could pray. After being told that one area was a passageway leading to the kitchen, she chose a secluded corner away from other customers and began praying.
Metwally alleged that the branch manager then approached her friend and attempted to stop her from completing the prayer. She said she intervened and asked the manager to address the situation respectfully, explaining that her friend was praying in an area away from other customers and was not disturbing anyone.
According to Metwally, the manager told her friend to “go pray near the bathrooms,” before adding, “Why don’t you take two extra steps to God, just like you go to the toilet?” Metwally said she objected to the comparison and continued asking the manager to lower his voice and handle the situation respectfully.
She said several customers present at the restaurant defended her and told security that neither she nor her friend had caused a disturbance. Metwally also said several customers later left the restaurant in protest.
In a statement following the incident, Sizzler Steak House management apologized to Metwally and her family, saying the employee’s conduct was not representative of the company’s policies.
The restaurant said the employee had been working at the branch for less than two weeks and was still on probation. He was immediately suspended and referred for investigation, pending the necessary legal and administrative procedures.
Sizzler also clarified that the company does not prohibit prayer, but said it follows Mall of Arabia’s regulations, which require prayers to be performed inside mosques and designated prayer areas within the mall rather than inside retail stores.
The restaurant chain said it has operated in Egypt since 2014 and currently has eight branches, adding that it had not experienced a similar incident previously.
Sizzler reiterated its apology and said it would take the necessary measures to prevent similar incidents from occurring again.
