A representative of the Twin Peaks Waco franchise has released a statement regarding Sunday's shooting. The statement came from Leigh Strope, Senior Director for Public Affairs & Crisis at Burson-Marsteller, a public relations and communications firm. The statement is below:

We are working hard to learn the facts about the violence that occurred outside our Waco restaurant yesterday, and that process has just begun. We are horrified by this violence and express our deepest sympathy to all those impacted by it.

It is important to clarify that, to the best of our knowledge, law enforcement officials did not ask either the Waco restaurant operator (with whom they spoke several times) or the Twin Peaks franchisor to cancel the patio reservation that was made on Sunday. Based on the information to date, we also believe that the violence began outside in the area of the parking lot, and not inside our restaurant or on our patio, as has been widely reported.

We are disappointed that the franchisor, Twin Peaks, made a sudden decision to cancel our Waco franchise before all of the facts are learned. We will continue to assist the authorities in any way possible that will assist in their efforts to bring the wrongdoers to justice.

Some Key Facts:

-The Sunday afternoon event at the Waco restaurant was not a Bike Night. The Sunday event was a regular patio reservation made by a female customer who has been to the restaurant previously.

-The last Bike Night had taken place at the restaurant last Thursday, May 14, without incident. The Waco restaurant has hosted seven Bike Nights since last fall (four this spring) without altercations such as this. Twin Peaks, as a brand, has hosted many community-oriented Bike Nights, not only in Waco, but throughout the country in other locations, as do many other restaurants and organizations.

-We verified with the Twin Peaks franchisor that no one from law enforcement ever told them we should consider canceling the reservation that was booked for our patio on May 17 (or the biker night on Thursday the 14th).

-Our restaurant general manager and two franchisee operators spoke with law enforcement officials on several occasions before May 17. Contrary to what is being widely reported, as best as we can determine at this time, no one from law enforcement ever told them to cancel the Sunday patio reservation.

-Ensuring the safety of our patrons and employees is our number one priority.

-We are working with a third party video surveillance vendor to provide restaurant video footage in a format requested by law enforcement.

-We have set up a process for counseling for our employees.

We are in the process of gathering additional facts, and urge that people avoid rushing to judgment before those facts are fully known.

 


Twin Peaks Waco Franchise Releases Statement