A Baltimore restaurant issued an apology after the video showed that a black woman and her son were denied service because of the boy’s clothing despite a white boy being served while dressed similarly.
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BALTIMORE – A Baltimore restaurant issued an apology on Monday after the video showed that a black woman and her son were denied service because of the boy’s clothing, while a similarly dressed white boy had been taken care of.
Atlas Restaurant Group, which owns Ouzo Bay, said it was concerned about the incident and placed the manager seen in the video on “indefinite license,” the media reported.
“This should never have happened,” the company said.
The video posted by Marcia Grant shows her son wearing sports shorts, sneakers, and an Air Jordan T-shirt. The unidentified manager tells Grant that her son’s outfit violates the restaurant’s dress code.
Grant turns his camera to a white boy in the restaurant wearing a graphic T-shirt and similar-looking shorts who were being cared for, but the manager replies that the boy was not wearing shorts like Grant’s son.
The manager also said he couldn’t see the white boy well.
Atlas said they were immediately changing their policy so that children 12 and under are not subject to the dress code. Atlas also said the dress code was not “intended to be discriminatory”.
Grant did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Atlas was previously criticized in September for its dress code when the Choptank restaurant in Fells Point banned “baggy clothing, sunglasses after dark and scarves.” The restaurant later modified the dress code, the media reported.
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