BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Golden Corral in Beckley has suspended a promotional event offering free meals to preachers after receiving a formal complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), a national nonprofit based in Wisconsin that advocates for the separation of church and state.
Since March 2025, Eddie Torrico, owner of the Golden Corral located at 1320 N. Eisenhower Drive in Beckley, had been offering free Sunday meals to “preachers of all denominations.”
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Torrico promoted the offer via a Facebook post, writing that preachers could eat free on Sundays, regardless of denomination, with the possibility of making the promotion permanent based on community response.
The FFRF responded with a letter dated July 17, 2025, claiming the promotion violates both federal and West Virginia civil rights laws by providing a benefit based solely on religious affiliation.
The organization cited the Civil Rights Act and the West Virginia Human Rights Act, which prohibit public accommodations—including restaurants—from discriminating based on religion.
“This religious discount violates the federal Civil Rights Act,” wrote Madeline Ziegler, a staff attorney with FFRF. “Golden Corral’s restrictive promotional practice favors religious customers, and denies customers who do not proselytize, as well as nonbelievers, the right to ‘full and equal’ enjoyment.”
The letter urged Torrico to either discontinue the free meal offer or make it available to all members of the community regardless of religious affiliation.
In a Facebook post on the matter, Torrico said the event has been suspended “until this gets sorted out.” He did not indicate whether the promotion would return in a different form.
FFRF has requested written confirmation of how Golden Corral plans to address what it characterizes as a violation of federal and state law.
