Two managers were fired from a fancy restaurant after a viral video showed employees of the establishment were refusing entry to a black boy because he was wearing casual clothes.
Nine-year-old Dallas Greene appeared in national news on Tuesday after being turned away from the posh Ouzo Bay restaurant in Baltimore, despite the fact that a white boy was seen dining there in an almost identical outfit.
In a statement released Wednesday, the Atlas Restaurant Group, which owns Ouzo Bay, said they “launched an assertive internal investigation” that led to the termination of two of the restaurant’s managers.
‘They have been separated and are no longer with the organization. To reiterate, there is a level of sensitivity, discretion and customer service that we expect from our managers and from all those who represent the Atlas brand, ” the company stated.
Two managers at Ouzo Bay in Baltimore were fired after they refused to allow nine-year-old Dallas Greene and his mother Marci Grant (pictured) to enter the restaurant because of the boy’s casual clothing. It occurred despite the fact that a white boy was seen inside the restaurant dressed similarly.
Ouzo Bay in Baltimore shown. Two managers have been fired from the elegant restaurant after an ‘extensive’ investigation ‘
Wednesday’s statement followed an initial apology from the Atlas Restaurant Group for Tuesday’s incident.
On Wednesday, Dallas and his mother, Marcia Grant, appeared on Good Morning America to discuss the incident, which occurred in Ouzo Bay over the weekend.
At one point, Marcia seemed overwhelmed when she recalled the incident, holding back tears as she said, “ I kept insisting that the white boy has the same thing as Dallas, so why don’t you let us in? He [the employee] I just wouldn’t do it, regardless of how hard I pushed. ‘
Good Morning America presenter Michael Strahan spoke to Dallas about a photo shared on social media Wednesday morning, in which the young man posed with a police officer who had invited him to dinner at his home in the wake of the viral video.
“You were recognized on the street the other day, do you want to tell us about it?” Strahan asked.
“It was a Baltimore City Police officer who said he was sorry about things at the restaurant and said I can go to his house for dinner at any time … it made me feel great,” Dallas explained.
‘If you are in New York, you can come to my house whenever you want. I can’t cook, the food is not very good, but you can come and eat with me, man! Strahan then stated.
We will accept that offer! Marcia intervened.
Dallas received an invitation to dinner from a Baltimore police officer after being turned away from a fancy restaurant because of his casual wear
Good Morning America host Michael Strahan invited Dallas to his New York City apartment for a meal
Meanwhile, the clip even made it to Hollywood, where it caught the attention of Gabrielle Union, who was outraged.
“Rules, laws, dress codes, voting, education, jobs, housing, and so on … and people swear it all in our minds,” he wrote on Twitter, referring to the experiences black Americans face.
The Union itself has been in the headlines for alleging that there was racism on the set of its show, America’s Got Talent.
Union’s Twitter was inundated with responses from other black Americans, who relayed cases of racism to which they had been subjected.
A Twitter user pointed out that Ouzo Bay has now changed his dress code in light of the video.
The viral video reached Hollywood, where it attracted the attention of Gabrielle Union, who was outraged.
America’s Got Talent presenter has been in the headlines after there was allegedly racism on the set of the highest-rated reality show
On Monday, Marcia took to Facebook to share pictures of her rejected son Ouzo Bay, despite the fact that a white boy was seen dining at the establishment in an equally informal setting.
The video posted by Marcia shows her son wearing sports shorts, sneakers, and an Air Jordan T-shirt as they stand in front of the restaurant trying to get in.
“They are telling me that my son cannot eat here because he wears sportswear, but there are children out there with tennis shoes,” Marcia can be seen telling a restaurant employee wearing thick rimmed glasses.
“Unfortunately that’s my boss,” responds the employee, before Marcia demands to speak to the manager.
Marcia Grant went to Facebook on Monday to share images showing that her nine-year-old son Dallas walked away from the exclusive Ouzo Bay, despite the fact that a white boy was seen dining at the establishment in an equally informal setting. .
However, the manager refuses to come to the front desk, letting the employee tell Grant again that she and her son cannot enter the restaurant.
“Unfortunately we have a dress code, if you have non-sport shorts,” he says.
‘But that white boy out there [on the patio] Can you eat here in your tennis shoes and sports shirt? Marcia responds before focusing the camera on the white boy who is wearing a similar outfit.
The video showed a restaurant employee (left) informing Grant and his son, Dallas, that they could not have dinner at the restaurant. Dallas looks right in his Air Jordan jersey
The white boy can be seen in the yard in a black printed T-shirt. Grant added a heart emoji on his face to protect his identity when he uploaded the video to Facebook.
“We allow tennis shoes, but not sports shirts or shorts,” responds the manager.
Are you telling me it’s not a sports shirt? Marcia asks, referring to the white boy’s dress, which looks like her son’s.
“We did not consider the shirt the boy was wearing to be a sports shirt,” says the employee, before later admitting that he could not see the garment.
He also tells Marcia that ‘he understands that she is upset’, to which she responds: ‘I don’t want you to like me, I just want you to tell me why it is different for my son.’
The employee cannot give a satisfactory answer, and the exchange ends when he says he needs to attend to other guests.
Nine-year-old Dallas is photographed in a social media capture shared by his mother, Marcia Grant.
RESPONSE OF THE ATLAS RESTAURANT GROUP
Atlas released a statement Monday night, apologizing for the incident in Ouzo Bay, saying they were left ‘sick’ by the Grant video.
“This should never have happened,” the company said.
‘We sincerely apologize to Marcia Grant, her son, and everyone affected by this painful incident. This situation does not represent who or what Atlas represents. ‘
They added that 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”. They followed up with a second statement detailing their investigation on Wednesday.
Atlas Restaurant Group released this statement on Monday night after the video began circulating online.
The company shared a follow-up statement on Wednesday, revealing that two managers had been fired after an investigation.
.
