A Illinois Buffalo Wild Wings fired multiple employees following accusations that a group of customers was relocated because they were black.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Justin Vahl, Marcus Riley, four other adults, and 12 children stopped by a Buffalo Wild Wings in Naperville, Illinois following a youth basketball tournament. The party came to the restaurant to celebrate one of the players' birthday. While employees set the table for the party, the host allegedly asked Vahl his ethnicity. When he asked why this mattered he was told that one of the establishment's regulars "doesn’t want black people sitting near him." Shortly after this interaction, a manager relocated the group.
After they were asked to move by the manager, the party decided to leave the restaurant. Vahl's wife, Mary, wrote a lengthy Facebook post about the experience.
"How is an establishment ok with serving people who try to control which types of people sit around them," she said. "In 2019, this type of behavior should not be accepted because of certain views. 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."
The post started to gain traction, prompting Buffalo Wild Wings to respond by conducting a "thorough, internal investigation."
This weekend, Buffalo Wild Wings spokesperson, Clarie Kudlata issued a statement saying every employee the party encountered has been fired by the company. "Buffalo Wild Wings values an inclusive environment and has zero-tolerance for discrimination of any kind," Kudlata said.
This isn't the first time employees at Buffalo Wild Wing have engaged in racially insensitive actions. In July, a Houston waitress asked Tasha Lee's identification. Lee, who is black, claimed the waitress told her: "Don’t take this racially, but sometimes the only way you can tell with black people is from their eyes and their smiles because it’s so dark." Buffalo Wild Wing's Twitter was also hacked in June 2018. The account was littered with offensive tweets.
