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.
Where do you start? The middle, doesn't work for me. I do best leaving the top open. I usually get stuck with 4 pegs though.
I like the fireplaces. If I ever have a cabin I want one .
So I'll not eat there like I no longer eat at Denny's.
We have met lots of confused, disorganized waitresses but they have all been very charming about it.
""The only thing he said was we could have a free meal and neither of us wanted to eat."
If they didn't want to eat a meal, what were they there for? A shakedown?
BTW what's the "special people" special?
I would gladly be discriminated against for a free meal. Ain't nuthin' bedder than free food.
Now that's funny; I don't care who you are...
If what she is saying is true, wouldn't it mean that white people got served quicker?
Unless it was the first Cracker Barrell she'd ever been in, she should have been well aware of how busy they are and how long it takes.
My husband and I often joke that they build the building, pave the parking lot, and then fill it up with cars. I've never been by one whose parking lot wasn't packed!
I'm more of a Ritz.
Wife's just a plain saltine.
Hmm, why not try the roast duck with mango salsa ?
--ccm
I love Cracker Barrel. Chicken Fried Chicken and Mashed Potatoes both covered in sawmill gravy with those made from scratch biscuits. Side order of macaroni and cheese. No veggies. That's good eatin'.
I went to a restaurant once where the waitress practically ignored us. I understood it was busy, but she had plenty of time to give good service to the police officers two tables away. The busser helped us more than she did. My husband even gave the busser the tip the waitress would have gotten. The rub was we were talking about the lousy service when I said, "We'd probably get better service if we were police officers." The waitress was right behind me when I said it and suddenly tried to jump into action. But, it was too late. Sometimes lousy service is just an act of lousy service.
That certainly sounds like you. You didn't even have to sign your username. LOL.
So simple even a caveman could figure out what Rose Rock is up to.
Excuse me?
Pulled up into a Sonic with my brother and ordered about $20 worth of food. Because they didn't finish our order before closing time, they gave it to us for free (real reason is that they obviously had already powered down the registers and just wanted to get the heck out of there).
Took the food back home to our starving families and my brother's lazy ingrate high maintenance girlfriend had the nerve to complain because we didn't pick her up any BBQ Ranch dressing.
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