Restaurant employees get fired after telling black customers to move tables

A Buffalo Wild Wings branch in Las Vegas, Nevada  (INQUIRER.net Stock Photo)

A group of customers at a restaurant in Illinois, Chicago, was asked to move tables after an unidentified regular diner complained he/she did not want to sit near black people.

Justin Vahl walked into a Buffalo Wild Wings in Naperville to celebrate a child’s birthday in the evening of Oct. 26, as per the Chicago Tribune on Nov. 2. Vahl was the first to arrive in his group and told the restaurant he needed seats for 15 people. As employees started preparing the tables, he realized he had miscounted and went to request for three more seats.

Upon returning to the waiting area, Vahl was asked by the host, “What race are you?” Vahl asked why it mattered, but the host told him that one of the restaurant’s regular customers “doesn’t want black people sitting near him.”

“I’m not going to let a customer dictate where we sit,” Vahl was quoted as saying.

The restaurant’s manager then approached Vahl’s group after speaking with the regular customer and told them they had to move tables because it had been reserved for another party of 18. The report, however, confirmed that the restaurant does not accept any reservations after a call was made to the branch following the incident.

Vahl’s group decided to just leave the restaurant after more managers tried to get them to move. Vahl’s wife, Mary, has since taken to Facebook to share about their experience.

“In 2019, this type of behavior should not be accepted because of certain views,” said Mary in her post last Oct. 27. “If you don’t want to sit next to certain people in a public restaurant then you should probably eat dinner in the comfort of your own home.”

She added that what should have been a moment with friends and loved ones turned to a discussion with her young sons about the unfair treatment given to them.

“A moment to hangout with a group of friends after a birthday party, turned into a discussion with our young impressionable sons about how we didn’t get kicked out, but willingly CHOSE to leave because of the unfair treatment we were being given,” she said. “This Buffalo Wild Wings location has lost our business indefinitely.”

Some employees have been fired from the restaurant as a result of the incident following a thorough and internal investigation, as per a statement the company issued on Nov. 4. They have also banned the customer who exhibited the inappropriate behavior from all of their branches and said the company would be conducting a sensitivity training throughout their locations in Chicago.  Cody Cepeda /ra

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