A Florida mother says she was yelled at and ordered to leave a popular riverside restaurant in Georgia after breastfeeding her infant, an encounter she says she recorded on her cellphone and later shared online, triggering widespread scrutiny of the business and renewed discussion of legal protections for nursing mothers.

The incident occurred at Toccoa Riverside Restaurant in Blue Ridge, Georgia, according to Aris Kopiec, who told FOX Business she was dining with her husband, three young daughters — ages 4, 2, and 4 months — and family friends when her baby began to cry.

Kopiec said she latched her infant, immediately covered herself, and ensured she was fully concealed from the view of anyone outside her own table.

“The only people who could see me were at my table,” Kopiec said.

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“I covered myself immediately.”

Kopiec said she then pulled her shirt back down and prepared to take her older children outside.

As she moved through the crowded enclosed porch area, she said she bumped into either a chair or another guest.

She said that was when a man she believes to be the restaurant’s owner approached her.

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“He looked at me and said, ‘You can’t do that here,’” Kopiec recalled.

“I wasn’t even breastfeeding at that point. I was holding my baby in one arm and helping my kids with the other. He wouldn’t let me get any words out. He kept saying, ‘I have to protect my restaurant. You need to go to a corner.’”

Kopiec said she and a friend took the older children outside while their spouses stayed behind to pay the bill.

She said restaurant staff apologized to the men in the group, but not to her.

When Kopiec returned to collect her belongings, she said the confrontation escalated.

She said she calmly informed the man she believes is the owner that Georgia law explicitly protects breastfeeding in public places.

“I just told him, if he wanted to protect his restaurant, he should follow the law,” Kopiec said.

“That’s when he lost his mind.”

Kopiec said the man refused to provide his name.

After a friend mentioned having his photograph, Kopiec began recording video on her phone.

 

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A post shared by Aris Kopiec (@ariskopes)

In the video shared with FOX Business, a man standing behind the counter is heard shouting, “Get on out of here!” as Kopiec holds her infant in her arms.

“It was so aggressive,” Kopiec said.

“I knew I had to get my kids out of there.”

She said she left the restaurant shaken by the encounter.

“Honestly, I felt like I was in the wrong,” Kopiec said.

“My instinct was to apologize. But then I reminded myself — women have a legal right to breastfeed. I did nothing wrong.”

Public records and local business listings identify 67-year-old Tim Richter as the owner of Toccoa Riverside Restaurant.

A Facebook post from the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce in September praised Richter as a longtime owner and highlighted the restaurant’s hospitality, a description that many online commenters have contrasted with the tone captured in the viral video.

In a phone call with FOX Business, a man who identified himself as the restaurant’s owner declined to confirm whether he is the individual shown in the video.

He defended the business, stating, “I’ve had the restaurant for thirty-three years. We’ve been breastfeeding for thirty-three years,” and claimed the incident had been “staged for clicks.”

Georgia law provides that a mother may breastfeed “in any location where the mother and baby are otherwise authorized to be,” protecting nursing mothers from being removed or restricted for feeding their children in public or private spaces.

Etiquette expert and author Alison Cheperdak told FOX Business the incident raises serious concerns about how guests are treated. Cheperdak, whose etiquette book “Was it Something I Said?” is scheduled for release early next spring, said the video shows conduct that conflicts with basic standards of hospitality.

“Breastfeeding is natural and legally protected,” Cheperdak said. “Hospitality is about care, not confrontation, and raising one’s voice at a guest is never acceptable.”

She added that mothers should not feel compelled to apologize for feeding their children.

“A calm explanation is appropriate, but the responsibility is on the restaurant to treat her with respect,” Cheperdak said. “Even if a restaurant wants a quieter atmosphere, policies should never undermine basic respect for families.”

The restaurant has previously faced controversy. In 2023, local Atlanta outlets and Food and Wine reported that Toccoa Riverside drew backlash after posting an “adult surcharge” for parents deemed “unable to parent.” A FOX 5 Atlanta report on the issue said some parents claimed the owner scolded their children and that a 3-year-old was allegedly made to cry.

Kopiec said she hopes the attention surrounding the incident leads to change.

“Every nursing mom deserves to feel safe feeding her baby,” she said. “We have a legal right to breastfeed, period.”

She said she does not intend to hold onto anger over the encounter.

“I’ve chosen to forgive,” Kopiec said.

“But I would really like to see them welcome breastfeeding moms.”

 

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A post shared by Aris Kopiec (@ariskopes)

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