Texas Mom Says Restaurant Kicked Out Family Over Breastfeeding on Father’s Day

A Texas mother says her family’s first Father’s Day celebration turned into a humiliating ordeal after she claims a restaurant kicked her family out because she was breastfeeding her infant son.

Aura McCullough said in a TikTok video posted Monday, June 22, that she and her husband were dining at Nowhere Bar in Celina, Texas, on Sunday, June 21 with their 5-month-old son when a staff member approached the table and told her she needed to cover up while nursing. She said she declined and asked whether another customer had complained.

McCullough was then told the manager had been monitoring the restaurant’s security cameras. When she asked to speak with a manager, she said she was told the employee standing in front of her already held that title.

The mother said she ultimately canceled her meal and asked for the check. The employee returned and said the owner would cover the bill — but the family would still have to leave, according to her social media post.

“That was extremely humiliating and demoralizing,” she said in the video.

“They ruined my family’s first Father’s Day,” McCullough added. “And they shamed a mother for trying to feed her baby.”

A woman named Katie, who identified herself as one of the restaurant’s owners, denied the accusations in a TikTok video response. “To be direct, Nowhere Bar does not prohibit breastfeeding. We have never asked anybody to stop breastfeeding. We have never asked anybody to leave because they were breastfeeding and that will never be our policy.”

“My hubby spoke to an attorney,” McCullough explained in the comment section of her video, which has divided viewers online.

One TikTok user argued, “I breastfed too but it should not be such an issue to cover up in public,” while others defended McCullough.

One commenter wrote, “As a mom who literally breastfed on the State House steps 26 years ago to protect the right to breastfeed anywhere, please file a complaint with the state on this. We can not go backwards.”

But beyond the heated online debate, state law offers a clear answer. Legally, McCullough appears to have been within her rights. Under Texas Health and Safety Code Section 165.002, mothers are entitled to breastfeed or express milk in any location where they’re otherwise permitted to be, with no requirement to cover up.