Black Woman, Son Denied Restaurant Service In Baltimore

BALTIMORE, MD — A Baltimore restaurant company announced Tuesday that it has fired two managers after video surfaced of a Black woman and her young son being denied service because of the way the boy was dressed. In the clip, however, a white youth is seen dressed similarly and permitted to dine in the restaurant.

According to Atlas Restaurant Group, the incident took place at Ouzo Bay in Baltimore. The boy's mother, Marcia Grant, took to social media Monday to share video of the encounter with restaurant staff. In the video, Grant's son is seen wearing athletic shorts, sneakers and an Air Jordan T-shirt as he and his mother attempt to enter the restaurant. They were ultimately turned away for failing to "adhere to the restaurant's dress code."

"Ouzo Bay would not let Dallas eat at there restaurant sighting that athletic wear was not allowed! I pointed out to them that there was a white child that also had on athletic wear just getting up from dinning there, they still would not let my son eat there!" Grant said in a Facebook post. "I have faced racism time and time again, but it’s hard AF, when you have to see your child upset because he knows he’s being treated different that a white child!"

In a statement, the restaurant group said it was disturbed by the incident and has since publicly apologized to Grant and her 9-year-old son. Following the incident, Ouzo Bay's website now states that "children under 12 years old are not subject to dress code" when accompanied by an adult.

"We are sickened by this incident and we sincerely apologize to Marcia Grant, her son and everyone impacted by this painful experience. They deserved better," the restaurant group said in a statement.

Within 24 hours of learning of Grant and her son's experience inside the restaurant, Atlas leadership said it launched an assertive internal investigation, which included extensive video review, analysis, workforce interviews and input from human resources professionals and other experts in the field. As a result of the investigation, two Ouzo Bay managers were fired and are no longer with the organization.

The restaurant group also said it has communicated with Atlas employees and reiterated and reinforced its unwavering position that there is no place for racism or discrimination in any form within its company.

"We will continue to implement our diversity and inclusion training required for all employees and are currently educating ourselves on additional ways we can continue to expand and improve these efforts," the company said.

Atlas Restaurant Group said it has attempted to connect with Grant and her son; however, the company said it was unsuccessful but continues to try.

"Again, we want to extend our sincerest, heartfelt apology. We don’t want anyone to go through this type of embarrassing and hurtful experience," the group said.

This is not Atlas' first time coming under fire for its dress code. Late last year, its restaurant, Choptank, banned excessively baggy clothing, sunglasses after dark and bandannas. According to The Baltimore Sun, critics then took to social media and accused the restaurant of racial discrimination. The restaurant group ultimately revised the dress code following the backlash.