Burger King complaint: Deneied use of available restroom facility

On Wednesday, 30 March 2022,, at 5:15 p.m. Central Daylight Time, at the Burger King restaurant at 748 Diversey Parkway, Chicago, IL, USA, I had finished my meal and was in considerable need of using the restroom. A transgender man (presenting as male), I was told the men’s restroom was out of service. I asked whether I could use the women’s room, and was told, No, that is only for women. I had visited this location before, knew that each restroom was locked and only one person was allowed inside at a time using a key, so did not understand why I could not simply switch to the women’s room; no one else would be inside. As I explained this, the staff insisted, No, the men’s room is closed, the women’s room is for women only. I made it home without physical accident, luckily. I find this lack of consideration for the physical comfort of patrons disappointing, besides the insensitivity to my gender.