Woman sues café over non-photogenic food presentation
By Roshni Riar, Staff Writer
Local internet foodie and 27-year-old veterinary student Susanne Richardson is suing the newly opened New Westminster café, Greens & Grains.
The reason: Greens & Grainsâ food, consisting of specialty sandwiches and salads, is not âInstagram-ableâ enough.
By not dressing up their dishes to be more photogenic, Richardson argues that Greens & Grains is hurting the like and follower counts of hopeful internet foodies like herself.
In an interview with the Other Press, Richardson expressed her reasoning behind the bold legal action.
âYou know, I was really excited about Greens & Grains, but their lack of attention to detail really let me down,â said Richardson.
She opened her Instagram to reveal a grainy photo of mac ânâ cheese amongst a grid of pink lattes and rice bowls topped with flowers and delicate garnishes. âI had to upload a photo of my boring, home-cooked meal and it got a fraction of the likes that a beautifully plated dish from a new, buzzworthy spot would have gotten,â she said to reporters.
âIâm suing for loss and suffering. The cafĂ© not only disappointed me but also my followers. I wasnât able to provide them with the content they expect of me and I ended up losing three whole follows. Do you know how humiliating that is? I even contemplated deleting my account, but I know my followersâall 214 of themâwouldnât want me to give in like that. This kind of behaviour can really dash oneâs spirit. But Iâm here to say: They canât slow my Insta-train down!â
Rachel Lowe, General Manager of Greens & Grains, was not impressed with Richardsonâs extreme approach.
âAt the end of the day, we are a dining establishment. Our main concern is to provide people with good food that they want to come back for. Sure, itâs not the prettiest but itâs not like weâre serving buckets of slop. Check our 4.8-star Yelp reviews if you donât believe me.â
Jillian Bart, a respected pro bono lawyer, weighed in on the case.
âSusanne is young and not very grounded in reality. I can foresee this lawsuit being dropped before it gets any real traction. The press is probably more than enough for both parties involved. Besides, the cafĂ© never advertised that their food was going to be beautiful. No restaurant has to do that.â
Jimmy Wilkinson, a diner at the restaurant, shared his opinion on the situation to the Other Press.
âWell, itâs another one of these bougie cafes that makes a decent cappuccino and overpriced sandwich. I didnât notice that the presentation wasnât outstanding because frankly, I donât care. I donât have Instagram. Well, I do but I donât post. I mainly just creep. Anyways, the foodâs pretty good. Iâm not sure that this lady has her priorities straight.â
âI just want them to think about what theyâre doing by not sprucing up their plating,â Richardson said to reporters. âItâs not hard to make your food look good, but they just wonât play ball. I was hoping this would be wrapped up by the time of my midterms but itâs not looking so likely.â
Speaking on the worst-case scenario, Richardson said that at the very least, she would accept a full refund for her meal and perhaps a gift card.
