Posted on 05/04/2004 10:20:25 AM PDT by 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."
You should have driven the mere thirty miles north-east to Anderson. Our CB has excellent service, no matter your color nor the number of offspring you have!
Btw, CB has the best breakfast in the world, imho. Someone told me recently they also have non-breakfast food! WoW! Who knew?
I know this is a little (a lot?) off the subject, but I just has to grin when I read these lines. My step-dad(RIP), who was a lovable old bear, had this darn near homicidal "mentality" about buying ice! You know, the big bags you can buy at the gas station and Wal-Mart and stuff? "Why should I pay someone for something I can make at home?!" yada,yada,yada
I remember days and days before they'd give a party, my step-dad would be grimly freezing and storing trays and trays...and trays of "homemade" ice cubes. LOL! One man's determination to break the stranglehold of "Big Ice".
So are the FEDs suggesting that the color chosen to paint these apartments was a racist hate crime? Must have rooms painted yellow red brown and peach, in the ratio to the skin color of the populace. ;^)
Actually, I'm starting to doubt my childhood memory; so I've been busy Googleizing, and so far can't find that old logo.
The feds may have the goods on CB. I hope it doesn't turn out to be payback from the federal friends of the Lavendar Mafia for CB's firing of GLBT employees back in the early 90's.
I just have a very healthy and sometimes unnatural mistrust of all things federal, state, and local government.
I have eaten there, regrettably, and consequently my personal opinion is that those discriminated against are being done a favor by being encouraged to eat somewhere else.
I agree with post #19. This is not a couple of disgruntled customers who weren't seated fast enough, this is the Justice Department having made a lengthy investigation.
Excellent observation! So is this report saying that the lack of service is due to the white wait-staff? "I don't care if it is my table, Mr. Manager, I'm not gonna wait on them." If so, how can the management be blamed? What was he (the manager) supposed to do? Force the waiter? We're talking a restaurant here, not the Army.
Which leaves the question of: If the white servers had the choice on whether to serve blacks or not, was the non-white staff given the same choice? If so, how come we've never heard them scream discrimination?
IMHO that's why I'm sure CB devided to just go ahead and settle out of court. These charges are more full of holes than swiss cheese.
Awww, well now, that IS regrettable! Sorry you didn't like it! There is a cheap restaurant I went to in Georgetown once. You might like it (if it's still around). It's called 1789
Mmmm. Very good! I complained there that our reservation was not kept for us and got free drinks for the night. Thankfully, I'm not black. They may have made me wash dishes!
Feds went after Hooters too in the mid 90s. That went nowhere when Hooters decided to fight back.
I'm sure you *haven't* eaten there.
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