Employees at a Washington Denny’s have been fired after they insisted black customers pre-pay for food while not requiring their white counterparts to do the same.
Rawstory reports that Palmer Pelham and his wife, a white couple dining in the restaurant, made the observation and posted about it on Facebook.
“A few minutes after we sat down four young African American Men walk in to eat,” Pelham recalled. “They have to wait about 10 minutes even though the restaurant is empty to be seated. Two other single white men come in and are seated immediately. My wife and I order and our server goes back to kitchen. Finally she go over the table of the young men and takes their orders. She brings our food out and we start eating. The server comes out of the back about 5 minutes later and walks over the the young men’s table with their order slips. She then asks for them to pay before the cook will prepare their food. She says that she has had several people order food and leave without paying so her manager said she had to have them pay first.”
Pelham goes on to say that he encouraged the gentleman to ask why he and his wife didn’t have to pay which ultimately resulted in an angry confrontation between himself and Denny’s staff.
The manager was shaking his head and wagged his finger at her. He then walked over to a computer in another part of the restaurant and started typing on it,” he wrote. “The young men did not make a scene or disrupt other people. They were complaining a little bit but quietly. I tell them when the manager comes to ask why my wife and I did not have to pay for our meals in advance or show our money.”
Pelham states he then got into an arguement with the server and accused her of being a racist, with her manager instructing her “not to talk to me.”
Pelham’s statement has since been removed from Facebook. Denny’s issued their own statement via Facebook condemning the actions.
To see the full Denny’s statement, flip the page.
