This shit still happens?

28 Jul 2007 By

Don’t want to leave BlogHer on a sour note, but this just ain’t right:

last night I went out with a group of women to find a restaurant. We went to this one place (very busy with a line up – all white, upper middle-class folks), and one of the women, Dannie a sista from the Bay area, enquired to see if we could get a table. She was told that the restaurant was sold out. We all thought that the terminology was a bit strange, so another woman (white) from our group went back and asked again. She was told that there was an hour wait if she wanted to come back. So when she came back and reported to Dannie, she stormed over and gave the host that she talked to a piece of her mind (she’s a lawyer), got his card and assured him that she would be filing a complaint the next day.

  • Nat

    Being that I live here, I would really love to know the restaurant to avoid it — and not recommend it. If you can find out which one it was & pass that on…that would be great.

    And it was so fabulous to see you and Missy!!!!

  • http://www.dustbury.com/ CGHill

    Yeah, I think I’d like to avoid that chain (if chain it be) myself, just on general principle.

  • http://www.lainad.typepad.com Lainad

    Whassup girl?

    I have to contact Danni (She got the business card from the restaurant) and I’ll post the name and address when I get it. See you at SXSW!

  • Sigivald

    “Restaurant is full”

    vs.

    “Restaurant is full, and will be for an hour”

    doesn’t seem so horrible a difference to me.

    Both women did, after all, get told that the restaurant was currently full, right?

    I don’t even know what the “complaint” would be – “They they didn’t tell me they might have space in an hour if I came back”?

  • http://www.swirlspice.com Erica

    It was more like one was told she couldn’t be seated, and the other was told she could. The first response implied that nothing could be done. The second implied that accommodations could be made. Not the same thing.

  • Kate

    I agree with Sigivald. The restaurant was full in both cases. There’s no discrimanatory intent behind mentioning that a customer can always try again later to see if seats have opened up.

  • http://blog.kosherdillpickle.com Kimberley

    Wow, it’s 2007, not 1950s Virginia.

  • http://www.houseofprocrastination.org Brandi

    As a black woman, I would have reacted the same way. It did seem curiously phrased. Still, I guess I would have had to have been there…

    In unrelated news that only Erica might care about:

    It appears CNN has picked up on Sheletta. Good grief.
    http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/personal/08/06/interracial.dating.ap/index.html?rss