Plaza Midwood restaurant owner gains praise for restroom policy

A Plaza Midwood restaurant owner is receiving praise after a customer posted a photo of her restaurant's restroom policy on Facebook.

The policy is gender-neutral and the post has since gotten thousands of likes and hundreds of shares.

Juli Ghazi, the owner of Pure Pizza says this policy has been in place at the restaurant since it opened last August. It's a decision she made following last year's vote by the Charlotte City Council to remove provisions from a proposed LGBT ordinance that would have allowed people to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with.

"It's a very broad issue that there are often times people need to find a gender-neutral bathroom," Ghazi said.

Whether that be those in the LGBT community or a parent with their child, Ghazi wanted to ensure every one was accommodated in this multi-stall bathroom.

It's a move she says so far has come with no regrets.

"We haven't had any issues with peeping toms or molesters or anything deviant going on in the bathroom. It's been just a safe, neutral place for our customers to come," Ghazi said.

Ghazi hopes her customers' support will inspire local establishments to make their polices the same.

The Charlotte City Council is slated to vote on a package of LGBT inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances again in the coming weeks.

The Charlotte City Council reject last year's ordinance in a 6 to 5 vote. If it had passed it would have prohibited business from denying people based on their sexual orientation, gender expression and gender identity.