Posted on 10/17/2006 5:15:23 PM PDT by Livin_large
Rose Rock, the mother of comedian Chris Rock, claims she was racially discriminated against when she was seated but ignored for more than a half hour at a Cracker Barrel restaurant along the South Carolina coast. Rock said Tuesday she planned to sue the Lebanon, Tenn.-based company. A Cracker Barrel spokeswoman said the restaurant chain was investigating and taking the complaint "very seriously."
Cracker Barrel has in the past faced numerous lawsuits and a federal inquiry over complaints of refusing to serve black customers, discriminating against minority workers and firing gay employees. The company has taken steps to rebuild its folksy image and reach out to minorities.
Rock, who is from Georgetown, said she and her 21-year-old daughter were the only blacks at the chain's Murrells Inlet restaurant in April. She said when she asked the manager about the delay she was told they could have a free meal.
"He never called over the waitresses and asked, `Why did these people sit here for an hour without service?'" she said. "The only thing he said was we could have a free meal and neither of us wanted to eat."
Cracker Barrel spokeswoman Julie Davis said the company doesn't "tolerate any form of discrimination."
"It has always been a violation of our policies and procedures and it is neither condoned nor allowed," she said. "We do not allow the type of behavior you are describing," Davis said.
Rock said she contacted the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission and was told her complaint would be handled, but "nothing ever happened."
The head of the commission, Jesse Washington, said Tuesday that after initial discussions, the complaint was finalized Aug. 7 and his agency also was investigating. He would not comment on the complaint.
"We get thousands of charges coming through here in the course of a year," he said. "It's not out of line _ the time frame on this. It is being investigated and we will be in touch with her when we have a report."
The Rev. Al Sharpton will join Rock on Wednesday in South Carolina to announce that Sharpton's Action Network will finance the planned lawsuit.
"I'm getting reports from all over the country about Cracker Barrel," Sharpton said from New York on Tuesday.
He also said state officials are slow to act on such complaints.
"When people are talking about there is no more discrimination, a lot of it is because they are not following this stuff up," Sharpton said.
Cracker Barrel, established in 1969, operates 547 restaurants in 41 states, according to the company's Web site.
Georgetown is about 60 miles northeast of Charleston.
That % was extorted by the "rev" jackson which is why I won't go there.
Yep, someone other than herself. While other mothers were referring to their offspring as "my son, the doctor" or "my son, the lawyer" she was stuck with "my son, the foul-mouthed, race-baiting, liberal punk who calls himself a comedian", the poor dear.
If she had been sitting with her son Chris, after 15 minutes he probably would've yelled out, "Ain't any of you crackers gonna serve this black family??!!"
This looks like bad service, which is probably an entrenched bugaboo with the restaurant chain, rather than
"discrimination". But of course it is just ambiguous enough to appear to be tailor-made for the "talents" of Al Sharpton, so he jumps right in with two big Gucci-clad feet. This is a suit that will be thrown out, like most of Sharpton's sharkskins should be.
If she had been sitting with her son Chris, after 15 minutes he probably would've yelled out, "Ain't any of you crackers gonna serve this black family??!!"
This looks like bad service, which is probably an entrenched bugaboo with the restaurant chain, rather than
"discrimination". But of course it is just ambiguous enough to appear to be tailor-made for the "talents" of Al Sharpton, so he jumps right in with two big Gucci-clad feet. This is a suit that will be thrown out, like most of Sharpton's sharkskins should be.
Now that right there's funny...I don't care who you are.
I don't have much of an appetite ,thank you.
And don't forget that the stores call black rice "wild." And just why are Coco-Puffs supposed to make one go "coo-coo"? Is this the "institutionalized racism" I've been hearing about?
BTW cracker barrels corn muffins and their buttermilk biscuits are reason alone to sit for 30 minutes.
I went to the cracker barrel website.
Who would eat that crap?
Well if they didn't want to EAT then why did they go there to begin with?
Are these people really from SC? Chris Rock has got to be the most vile example of today's ghetto culture. I had no idea he was from SC. Maybe their bad service had more to do with who they were related to than their color. I've complained about bad service a plenty and never got it posted on Free Republic.
Funny thing is that Cracker Barrell also alienated the Sons of Confederate Veterans at some point. They might want to start courting illegal mexicans or the taliban or something, now that they've alienated southerners, blacks and southern blacks. What other demographic is left. Yankees, maybe? This would be hilarious if it wasn't entirely stupid. Typical Chris Rock loud mouth crappola.
That first line killed me "Cracker barrel" Well what the hell does she expect eating with a bunch of crackers?
Be sure and go to the Route 66 resturant in Tulsa.
A lawsuit for waiting for a half-hour. Cheez-N-Rice.
I don't know much about Chris Rock, but from what I have seen, I have a hard time believing he's cool with this. Is he on the outs with his mom? Is she demanding an increasing amount of cash from him and he's saying "Enough!"?
Most Cracker Barrel restaurants are usually located along interstate highways and are usually busy. That's the reason I don't go to them. I've never been in one that wasn't busy and have never gotten prompt service in one.
I suspect the one at Murrells Inlet is normally crowded and being at the beach, a lot of people are living on 'island time', including the wait staff, so a 30 minute wait is probably not unusual, regardless of the color of the customer.
Gee, how does the Cracker Barrel PR dept. handle this one? "We're not racists; we're just lousy at customer service."
If you want fast food, never go to a Cracker Barrel. It is always slow.
Used to eat at a Cracker Barrel when I'd drive my daughter back to college. I quit because the service was LOUSY, and it made the trip much too long. The place is warehouse huge and understaffed.
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