A Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in Naperville, Illinois 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.
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 restaurant’s regular customers seated nearby “doesn’t want black people sitting near him.”
Later, a manager asked the group to move to another location because a nearby customer didn’t want to sit near black people, Vahl and Riley said.
At that point, the group left the restaurant and took their business elsewhere.
Afterward, Vahl’s wife, Mary, took to Facebook to detail their experience.
“How is an establishment ok with serving people who try to control which types of people sit around them?!” she wrote. “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.”
Once the story gained national attention, Buffalo Wild Wings conducted a “thorough, internal investigation.” On Sunday, Clarie Kudlata, a spokesperson for the company, confirmed that every employee involved in the incident was terminated.
“Buffalo Wild Wings values an inclusive environment and has zero-tolerance for discrimination of any kind,” Kudlata said.
