Buffalo Wild Wings said it fired a group of employees who asked a party of African-American customers to move to accommodate 'racist' regulars
- Buffalo Wild Wings fired several employees after a diner's Facebook post describing a racist incident on October 27 went viral.
- On Facebook, diner Mary Vahl said that wait staff moved her party for the benefit of a "regular" whom employees openly acknowledged as "racist."
- Vahl described her party of 18 as majority African American.
- A Buffalo Wild Wings spokesperson said that the regular has also been barred from its locations for life.
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Buffalo Wild Wings fired a group of employees from a location in Naperville, Illinois, after a diner claimed that her party was asked to move to accommodate a "racist" regular.
Customer Mary Vahl wrote about the incident in a viral October 27 Facebook post, saying that her group of six adults and 12 children was asked to move after being seated next to a customer whom employees openly described as "racist." Vahl said that most of the members of her party were African American.
In a statement to Business Insider, a Buffalo Wild Wings spokesperson said that the company has "terminated the employees involved" in the episode, following an internal review.
"Further, we have banned the customer who exhibited the inappropriate behavior from all Buffalo Wild Wings sports bars for life," the spokesperson said.
As a result of this incident, Buffalo Wild Wings said it will now "conduct sensitivity training throughout our Chicagoland sports bars."
Vahl did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. In her Facebook post, she wrote that the incident occurred on October 26 at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Naperville. According to Vahl, after some initial confusion about the size of the party, the host asked Vahl's husband, Justin, about the racial composition of their group.
The host went on to explain that the party of 18 would have to be seated next to two of the location's "regular customers." Vahl wrote that, according to the host, one of those guests was "racist" and therefore wouldn't want to sit next to a group of African-American patrons.
"Of course, we don't give him the satisfaction and told the host we'll sit where they set us up," Vahl wrote. "We knew right away who it was because the guy was staring at us the entire time and giving us looks as we were being seated."
Vahl said that as her group began to order drinks and appetizers, another Buffalo Wild Wings employee approached the table of the "racist" regulars for what Vahl described as a "playful" interaction. That employee then came up to Vahl's tables and said that her group would have to move, as the seats were reserved.
After a back and forth with different managers, Vahl said her group ended up leaving and taking their business to Hooters. Vahl wrote that she and her husband had to explain to their "young impressionable sons" that they "didn't get kicked out, but willingly CHOSE to leave because of the unfair treatment we were being given."
"How is an establishment ok with serving people who try to control which types of people sit around them?!" Vahl wrote.
"In 2019, this type of behavior should not be accepted because of certain views," Vahl added. "If you don't want to sit next to certain people in a public restaurant then you should probably eat dinner in the comfort of your own home."
A Buffalo Wild Wings spokesperson told Business Insider that the company "values an inclusive environment and has zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind."
"We have been in direct communication with the group of guests to understand their account of what happened and have offered our deepest apologies for any unacceptable behavior," the spokesperson said in a statement.