Racism and discrimination continue to be salient issues in the restaurant industry; some of the most prominent ways that people of color experience unfair treatment are related to unequal pay, hiring and firing, racial harassment, and job classification.
The food industry is still filled with instances of racism and sexism, some discrimination comes from angry guests, but even more so from the people who brush shoulders in restaurants every day, working in dining rooms and kitchens.
Restaurants are still often obviously segregated by staff— And there are many stories in the restaurant world of someone at their job that uses blatantly discriminatory terms to describe them–that is the case of a New Orleans woman who went to return a dish she didn’t like to a restaurant, however, she got a receipt with something so offensive on it that she made the decision to take legal action and persuade other customers to never eat there again.
Liryca Neville Branch was having lunch with her three coworkers at Huck Finn’s Cafe on Decatur Street when she decided to return the food since she was dissatisfied with it. She was not charged for the lunch, but Dakota Crochet, her waiter, scribbled something on her receipt that infuriated her.
The receipt did indicate discounted food, however, the waiter wrote on the receipt calling the customer a “N***er.”
Branch demanded to speak with a manager right away, and she was informed that the receipt was a part of a joke that staff members make about black workers “in the back” of the restaurant.
No one was buying that explanation, though, as Branch’s Facebook post of a screenshot of the receipt immediately went viral online, and the restaurant came under fire for the waiter’s overtly discriminatory actions. “This is unacceptable. I couldn’t sleep last night,” Branch told the New York Daily News. “You would think that we wouldn’t have to deal with this stuff right now. It just shows that racism is alive and well.”
The management of the restaurant swiftly fired the server and said, “We don’t condone that at all. He’s gone and that’s it,” referring to the worker who made the racial slur. The restaurant also released a statement stating that the employee had been fired and should not be viewed as a representative of the business.
“Huck Finn’s Cafe is shocked and appalled at the actions of one of its employees, who was terminated immediately after management found out they violated company policy,” the statement on the restaurant’s website read. “Huck Finn’s Cafe is committed to treating everyone, employees and customers alike, with dignity and respect. The unfortunate actions of this one employee do not mirror the mission of Huck Finn’s Cafe’s firm non-discrimination policy, and we are extremely apologetic for any inconvenience this may have caused. We have been serving customers from around the world for more than 6 years, and our employees work their hardest to go above and beyond to ensure visitors have a pleasant and respectful experience at Huck Finn’s Cafe.”
Many people weren’t happy even after the employer was fired and believed the business should still be held accountable. “It’s actually very insulting. I’m not black but still, that’s an insulting word,” said customer Cooper Anderson. “We don’t use that word anymore. It’s a racist word, racist term, one of the worst you could ever say and putting it on paper at a public restaurant in New Orleans, that’s one of the worst things you can do.”
“I’ve never had anything like this happen before to me,” Liryca Neville Branch said. “Trust me — this is not over. I refuse to let this die out,” she added, saying she is considering legal action and demanding a personal apology from both the terminated waiter and the restaurant’s management.
Watch it here: Youtube/Nola
Sources: Taphaps, Liveforlivemusic, Rawstory, Nydailynews
