Patrons act over segregated dining (“Cracker” Barrel gave whites better seating and service!)

The New York Times via SMH ^ | May 5, 2004

[dead]

Washington: The country-wide Cracker Barrel restaurant chain has agreed to overhaul its training and management practices after the US Justice Department accused it of discriminating against black diners at about 50 restaurants.

A civil rights investigation found that black diners at Cracker Barrel restaurants in seven southern states were routinely given tables apart from whites, seated after white customers who arrived later, and given inferior service, the department said.

Managers allowed white servers to refuse to wait on black patrons, and blacks were given less favourable treatment than whites when they complained about service, investigators found. Interviews with dozens of employees suggested that managers "often directed, participated in, or condoned the discriminatory behaviour", the department said.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, a Tennessee-based chain that has 497 locations throughout the US and is known for its country-style cooking and folksy retail stores, denied the allegations contained in the lawsuit.

But the company agreed to several wide-ranging steps aimed at combating discrimination against blacks.

The agreement "moves Cracker Barrel forward in a direction we were already moving", a company spokeswoman said. She said that while Cracker Barrel did not believe the accusations were true, it had agreed to the six-point plan to avoid protracted litigation.

About 100 blacks are pressing discrimination claims and seeking damages from the chain in four lawsuits. One black diner said that when he complained that whites were getting better treatment, he was told he should go to a Burger King down the street.

"It's shocking that something like this still happens 40 years after the passage of civil rights legislation," said Heidi Doerhoff, a lawyer representing customers in Arkansas. "It harkens back to the back-of-the-bus treatment of African Americans."

[Hat-Trick]

"This is not a private lawsuit, but rather, a lawsuit commenced by the Feds. Based upon my experience, I will bet you that the lawsuit is based upon the first hand observations of Federal investigators, who posed as customers, as well a interviews with and sworn statements from current and former employees. I'm also confident that the Feds would not have commenced the lawsuit because of a few isolated incidents. And why did Cracker Barrel settle so quickly? Don't be surprised if the Feds have recordings of the discrimination. I also wouldn't be surprised if CB has internal documents showing that high level management was aware of the discrimination, but did little to stop the problem (and may have evern encouraged the practice) -- documents that CB would have to turn over to the Feds if the case had not been settled."

Hmmmm...come to think of it, you're right. I can't remember the last time that the Federal Government overstepped it's consititutional authority and persecuted innocent citizens, "based on the first-hand observations of Federal Investigators".

[petitfour]

Go into any restaurant with a bunch of young children and witness the fear/panic on the faces of the hosts/hostesses. The worst service I can remember our family having was at a Cracker Barrel in Indianapolis. We actually overheard our waiter complain about having to wait on our table before he had even spoken to us. (We had five children under the age of 7 at the time.) He did not refill my husband's tea once while we were there. He got our order wrong. And he neglected us in a whole bunch of other ways which I cannot remember because it has been more than 4 years since it happened. Hubby always tips the minimum 15%, but he is more likely to tip 20% or more because he knows how scary a table full of children can look. Our children are almost always VERY well behaved. They were no different that day. Other than that day, I cannot recall my husband complaining to a manager about service at a restaurant. The manager gave us the entire meal for free. I think that bugged us as much as the poor service. However, we have eaten at many a CB since, and the service has been good or very good. I have not paid much attention to the treatment of other patrons.

[mombonn]

Go into any restaurant with a bunch of young children and witness the fear/panic on the faces of the hosts/hostesses.

My mother-in-law and I took my daughter out to dinner at a nice (not up-scale) restaurant when she maybe 3. We were seated in a SEPARATE room.

By the end of the meal, they were apologizing to us for doing so, even though we hadn't said a word.

[Robert DeLong]

Pure and utter BULL.

[yankeedame]

Same problems down at "White Castle" and "Karla's Kountry Kitchen."

Yeah, but not at Popeye's Fried Chicken.

[VeritatisSplendor]

I eat out with a bunch of women, and we routinely leave 20-25% tip. I've been a waitress. The rotten tippers, in my experience, were the regular customers, friends of the owner, who got their discount out of my pocket.

MRs VS

[VeniVidiVici]

I respectfully suggest that you're probably white.

Never eaten there, have you? They are almost always packed. A wait is inevitable. You walk in and put your name on a list.

Unless they put "black" or "white" next to your name, you get the table that's free when your name comes up.

As for not getting equal redress when whining about the service? Sounds like a personal problem with the Justice Dept. I say the same thing about them.

This story, is a croc.

[Labyrinthos]

I know nothing about WACO. I do know, however, that back in the late 1990's I defended the owner of a large apartment complex (250 units) against a Federal civil rights lawsuit. The Feds accused the owner and its management company of discriminating against blacks. At the outset of the case, the Feds offered to settle for basically a public acknowledgment and apology and some kind of sensitivity training. My client refused the offer and unequivically denied all of the allegations even after the Feds produced secret audio recordings of the defendants and sworn statements from several teams of investigators, who conducted an undercover investigation over a 12 month period. What the Feds did was send in teams of investigators posing as potential tenants on nine seperate occassions over the 12 month period. Eight of the nine times, management either told the black investigators (which were usually posing as a husband and wife or as a upper middle class single person) there were no apartments available or quoted the black investigators a monthly rent that was two to three times higher than the going rate. And while management encouraged the black investigators to fill out an application just in case something became available, the black applications were color coded with a little black triangle in one of the corners. An hour later, white investigators would show up to rent an apartment and suddenly there were several units immediately available at a more modest rate. Even with this evidence, my client denied the charges and if there was a a problem, then it was the fault of the management company that my client had hired to run the complex. Then the Feds produced a memo from my client indicating that available aprtments should be repainted with "white or other light colors because the dark colors have given us problems in the past and most of our tenants prefer white and near white." Even then, my client denied the charges and claimed the Feds were out to get him, but ended up paying $250,000 to settle the case.

[VeritatisSplendor]

Last time we took all four of them out, we were the family from hell. Let's just say it culminated with the seven year old upchucking on the sidewalk outside; and that we left an 80% tip.

Mrs VS

[BushisTheMan]

This smacks of Jessie Jackson to me.

[truth_seeker]

"There used to be a restaurant years ago here in Houston called Sambo's."

I believe the original Sambo's is in Santa Barbara, CA.

And still open (breakfast and lunch - - no dinner).

[truth_seeker]

Here's a link.

http://www.wooden-nickel.net/sambo/

[petitfour]

lol We had a similar experience with an infant/almosttoddler once. Thankfully, we had not even been served drinks when she decided to urp. We left rather quickly.

[yankeedame]

....blacks were given less favourable treatment than whites when they complained about service, investigators found."

-"Less favourable treatment" defined by whom?
-Defined as what?
-Did they have their plates of food thrown on the table or something?
-Instead of running to the feds, why didn't the outraged party/parties speak to the management there and then?
-Why did they keep going back?
-Why is this investigation focused solely on the South? When we conservatives complain of something we are breezily told, "Well,then, just don't watch it/ buy that/ go there/ listen to it."
-To take advantage of the assumed racism therein?
-Why? Are there specific insistences (names,dates,etc.) of overt -- as opposed to preceived -- discrimination b/c of skin color?
-Regardless of the person's obvious socio-ecomc status e.g. the greying-at-the temples upper middle class black was treated the same as the 'yoots'?
Or are these accusations all lumped under the heading "It was found that...?"

More than ever,gang, IMHO doughnuts to dollars says this is a case of "Follow the money." CB lawyers/upper management doubtless figured it was just cheaper to fork over the protection money then fight it out in court.

[Little Bill]

We all have our crosses to carry.

[ErnBatavia]

Sambo's, at least in California, was a chain - now defunct...and before the logo below was input, I seem to recall that "Sambo" was shown more in the traditional 'Black Sambo' vein.

[cyborg]

and mine is chocolate

[FrankR]

Three words to Cracker Barrel....

PUT IN CAMERAS

...hey...it worked for Dennys...