A Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in the Chicago suburb of Naperville has terminated multiple employees after a group of customers alleged they were asked to move to another table due to the color of their skin.
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From the Chicago Tribune:
Justin Vahl and Marcus Riley said they visited the Buffalo Wild Wings on 75th Street east of Route 59 about 8:30 p.m. Oct. 26 with four other adults and 12 children after a youth basketball tournament to celebrate the birthday of one of the kids.
As employees set up the tables to seat the group, a host asked Vahl about his ethnicity. Vahl said he asked why it mattered.
He said the host explained that one of the restaurantโs regular customers seated nearby โdoesnโt want black people sitting near him.โ
Later, a manager asked the group to move to another location because a nearby customer didnโt want to sit near black people, Vahl and Riley said.
At that point, the group left the restaurant and took their business elsewhere.
Afterward, Vahlโs wife, Mary, took to Facebook to detail their experience.
โHow is an establishment ok with serving people who try to control which types of people sit around them?!โ she wrote. โIn 2019, this type of behavior should not be accepted because of certain views. If you donโt want to sit next to certain people in a public restaurant then you should probably eat dinner in the comfort of your own home.โ
Once the story gained national attention, Buffalo Wild Wings conducted a โthorough, internal investigation.โ On Sunday, Clarie Kudlata, a spokesperson for the company, confirmed that every employee involved in the incident was terminated.
โBuffalo Wild Wings values an inclusive environment and has zero-tolerance for discrimination of any kind,โ Kudlata said.
Kudos to Buffalo Wild Wings for being so swift in doing the right thing.
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