About 20 members of the Restaurant Opportunity Center early Monday morning blocked the entrance to The Capital Grille in Downtown Pittsburgh in a protest over the parent company's decision to open the restaurant on Thanksgiving.

The protesters gathered before 5 a.m. to block the truck bring Thanksgiving supplies to the Capital Grille, operated by Darden Restaurants Inc.

The group's leaders said employees are upset they are being forced to skip Thanksgiving with their families to serve others without the benefit of holiday pay.

Pittsburgh police asked the protesters to break up and they did so peacefully after about a half hour.

First Published: November 25, 2013, 11:42 a.m.