A Cracker Barrel restaurant in Connecticut faced criticism when a customer pointed out that some of its decorations resembled “nooses” hanging from the ceiling.

The restaurant chain has issued an apology for the incident.

Cracker Barrel clarified that the items in question were not actual nooses but rather wrapped cords attached to decor pieces. Nevertheless, the restaurant acknowledged that it was “completely unacceptable” for its employees to have overlooked the potential resemblance to nooses when setting up the decorations.

“Someone at Cracker Barrel in East Windsor needs to explain why there are nooses on the ceiling…” tweeted Alfonso Robinson, along with pictures of the decorations.

Cracker Barrel responded to the tweet the same evening, explaining that the “noose” decoration was actually a wrapped cord from an antique soldering iron that was part of the display at the East Windsor restaurant. The restaurant assured that the item had been removed.

Following the incident, activists visited the restaurant and had a “positive” and “constructive” conversation with the restaurant manager, Mark Smith, according to Keren Prescott, the founder of PowerUp-Manchester.