San Francisco restaurant apologizes for denying service to armed, on-duty police officers

San Francisco — The owners of a restaurant in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood apologized Sunday for asking police officers to leave their eatery because the officers' guns made employees uncomfortable.

In a statement posted Sunday on social media, Hilda and Jesse owners Rachel Sillcocks and Kristina Liedags Compton said "these are stressful times and we handled this badly."

Three officers were asked to leave the brunch spot on Friday and the restaurant posted an explanation on its Instagram channel Saturday that read: "The restaurant is a safe space. The presence of the officers' weapons in the restaurant made us feel uncomfortable. We respect the San Francisco Police Department and are grateful for the work they do. We welcome them into the restaurant when they are off duty, out of uniform and without their weapons."