A restaurant in Baltimore has issued an apology after a video showed a mother and her son being denied service because the boy was wearing casual clothes.
The mother shared the video on Facebook showing her 9-year-old son being turned away from Ouzo Bay even though another boy was seen dining in a very similar outfit.
The Facebook video shared by Marcia Grant shows her son, Dallas, wearing an Air Jordan T-shirt, athletic shorts, and sneakers as they stand in front of Ouzo Bay.
“They’re telling me my kid can’t eat here because he’s wearing athletic wear, but there’s kids out there with tennis shoes on,” Grant expressed.
“Unfortunately, that’s my boss,” the employee says before the frustrated mother demands to speak with the manager.
But the manager refuses to go to the front door, leaving the employee to tell the mother that she and her child can’t enter the restaurant.
“Unfortunately, we do have a dress code, if you have some non-athletic shorts,” the employee says.
“But that white kid out there can eat here with his tennis shoes on and his athletic shirt?” Grant responds before turning the camera to another boy who is wearing the same outfit as her son.
“We allow tennis shoes, but no athletic shirts or shorts,” the manager then replies.
“You’re telling me that’s not an athletic shirt?” the mother asks, referring to the boy’s outfit, which is similar to her child’s.
“The t-shirt that that kid was wearing, we don’t consider that to be an athletic t-shirt,” the employee answers before admitting that he did not see the shirt clearly.
The employee also tells the mother that he ‘understands she is upset,’ to which Grand replies: “I don’t want you to sympathize with me, I just want you to tell me why it’s different for my son.”
Atlas Restaurant Group, which owns the restaurant, apologized for the incident, saying they were left ‘sickened’ by the footage.
“This should have never happened,” Atlas said in a statement. “We sincerely apologize to Marcia Grant, her son & everyone impacted by this painful incident. This situation does not represent who or what Atlas stands for.”
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Replaced!