Photo Courtesy of Mike Mozart/Flickr
In a jaw-dropping and disconcerting incident, a Chili’s Grill & Bar restaurant is now entangled in a federal discrimination lawsuit, accused of making a Black family pay upfront before serving them.
Markesha Futrell-Smith, hailing from Colorado, is standing up to the popular eatery chain in a legal battle that has garnered national attention.
The story unravels
at a Chili’s restaurant situated at 3625 S. Monaco Parkway in Denver, where Markesha Futrell-Smith and her family gathered to celebrate her birthday.Accompanied by her husband and two children, Futrell-Smith anticipated a delightful occasion. However, their experience took a distressing turn when they allegedly became victims of racial discrimination.
As the family took their seats, a manager approached their table with a perplexing demand: they were required to provide payment upfront before placing their order. This startling request appeared to be exclusive to the Futrell-Smiths, as no other patrons encountered a similar demand that day.
The discrimination lawsuit contends that Chili’s not only baselessly accused Futrell-Smith of evading payment for a previous meal but also declined to take their order despite her earnest efforts to refute the allegations. Despite being regular customers, they were treated with a shocking lack of hospitality.
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Chili’s parent company, Brinker International Inc., is also named in the lawsuit. Futrell-Smith is seeking unspecified damages and relief, including punitive damages, for the alleged discrimination and the emotional distress it inflicted on her and her family.
This incident, as described in the complaint, left Futrell-Smith feeling “frustrated, angry, embarrassed, and humiliated in front of her family and the other patrons of the restaurant.” It also raises concerns about the potential for similar discrimination to affect her and her children in the future solely based on their race.
As the legal battle unfolds, Markesha Futrell-Smith’s determination to seek justice against Chili’s Grill & Bar shines as a beacon of hope in the fight against racial discrimination.