A Baltimore restaurant denied a Black woman and her son service because the 9-year-old boy was wearing athletic apparel

• Marcia Grant and her son, Dallas, were turned away from Ouzo Bay in Baltimore on Monday because the 9-year-old boy was wearing athletic shorts, an Air Jordan T-shirt, and sneakers.
• Grant posted a video from inside the restaurant, where she told employees that there were other kids eating in athletic attire.
• The restaurant's owner, Atlas Restaurant Group, apologized for the incident.
• The group has previously been criticized for its dress code, which bans athletic attire, backwards and sideways hats, jerseys, construction boots, bandanas, and "excessively baggy clothing."

A Baltimore restaurant owner has apologized to a Black woman and her son after denying them service because the 9-year-old boy was wearing athletic shorts, an Air Jordan T-shirt, and sneakers.

Marcia Grant said on Facebook that she and her son, Dallas, were turned away from Ouzo Bay in Baltimore on Monday.

In video of the incident shared on Facebook, Grant can be heard saying her family was denied from eating at the restaurant because of a dress code that barred athletic wear. Grant says in the video that a similarly dressed white boy was being served.

"I have faced racism time and time again, but it's hard AF, when you have to see your child (9yo) upset because he knows he's being treated different that a white child!!!" Grant wrote.

Ouzo Bay is owned by the Atlas Restaurant Group, which released a statement calling the incident "disturbing."

"This should never have happened, the manager seen in the video has been placed on indefinite leave," the statement said. "We are sickened by this incident. We sincerely apologize to Marcia Grant, her son and everyone impacted by this painful incident."

The company said it has since revised its dress code, allowing children under 12 to be exempt, and said all employees would be going through diversity training.

Atlas Restaurant Group, which owns restaurants across the US, said its dress code is the result of "ongoing input from customers, in no way are they intended to be discriminatory," and said the incident involving Grant "clearly serves as a moment we will learn from and create change."

But this isn't the first time the group has been criticized for its dress code, which bans athletic attire, backwards and sideways hats, jerseys, construction boots, bandanas, and "excessively baggy clothing."

People last year questioned the dress code at Baltimore's The Choptank, owned by Atlas, saying it discriminated against fashion choices that are popular among Black and Latin communities.

Marvin "Doc" Cheatham, a civil rights leader in Baltimore and president of the Matthew A. Henson Neighborhood Association, told the Baltimore Sun at the time that the dress code was "very questionable."

"It sounds very questionable," he said, adding, "I own three pairs of Timberlands."

• Read more:
• The company behind 'Magic: The Gathering' has permanently banned cards it acknowledged were 'racist or culturally offensive'
• Interracial couples on how they're talking about race, love, and Black Lives Matter: 'The conversation took a far deeper meaning'
• A Black pastor who called police for help during a reported attack was arrested instead. The sheriff has now apologized.
• 10 things to watch to educate yourself about systemic racism