I am surprised that any venue below the status of “21” would turn away 25 people - especially on the complaint of one person. I will never forget having a New Year’s Eve dinner in a deluxe restaurant ruined by screaming, rowdy, verging on violent children. I asked the manager to say something to the parents, to rein in their little terrors, but he refused, even though it was disrupting the entire restaurant.
I don’t think the manager turned them away; they were trying to seat them, evidently in the same section, and somebody objected, the manager reported that the woman said she felt threatened, and they left. Personally, I think the woman who objected may have objected because she felt that she was being hurried so that the group could sit down, not that she felt “threatened.” They don’t look threatening and most of North Charleston is black anyway so it’s not like this is a new experience to her.
Wild Wings is a popular, casual place that probably attracts large groups of black people all the time - and in fact, some of the people who complained had dined there before - and I think the big problem was simply accommodating a large group with no notice. If it was raining, that meant that the deck (I think they have one) wouldn’t have been usable and also probably that the restaurant was more crowded than usual.
While it’s hard to say without hearing more from the other people involved, I don’t think “racism” was part of this, although I suppose anything is possible in today’s climate.
What I really don’t like are some of the comments here.