West Virginia Restaurant Shames Rude Commenter by Raising Money for Charity

When Morgantown, W. Va., restaurant owner Dan McCawley saw a rude message posted online about one of his servers, he didn't just get angry. He found a way to turn the negative into a positive.

A user on the restaurant-rating website Urbanspoon left a comment on barbecue restaurant Atomic Grill's page, urging a particular female server to "show more skin." Although the comment was later deleted, McCawley was angry that a man could speak to a woman in such a way. That's when he cooked up a brilliant idea: more skin. Specifically, more potato skins. He announced that Atomic Grill would be serving a limited-edition potato skin appetizer at the restaurant over Memorial Day weekend, with all proceeds benefitting a local charity, the West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services (FRIS).

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"The way women get treated – it's terrible," McCawley, who has five sisters, a "strong woman" for a wife, and a 12-year-old daughter, told Yahoo Shine. "You can't come here and treat servers like that. I hope people will think twice before they attempt to do it somewhere else."

Atomic Grill's hilarious comeback to a sexist online commenter has gone viral, and FRIS had to set up a PayPal account to handle the requests from people all over the world who wanted to donate but couldn't come to West Virginia in person.

The restaurant has also been deluged on Facebook by positive comments from as far away as Sweden and the U.K. 

"Thanks for taking a stand and using your influence to help women who've been momentarily stripped of their power. Great work and your community should be so proud of your place of business!" one commenter wrote.

"It is wonderful to see someone making positive change in the world. My daughter is eleven and I hope that her future employers are as empathetic and caring as you," said another. Other women shared their stories of workplace harassment and thanked Atomic Grill for creating a safe place for women to work.

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Although McCawley is happy with the attention his weekend promotion has received, he hopes the effects will last long past Memorial Day weekend. His 12-year-old daughter has been involved with the restaurant and is taking part in the potato skins sale. McCawley says that he and his wife are raising their daughter to be strong and independent. "We encourage her to think on her own and be safe."

In the meantime, there's one guy in West Virginia who hopefully feels pretty ashamed of himself right about now.