People who dine in restaurants expect good food and friendly service. But for one Latina woman, her recent experience at a Huntington Beach restaurant was anything but cordial as a waiter allegedly refused to serve her unless she could produce a “proof of residency.”
Diana Carillo took to Facebook to share the incident, saying that she and her friends went to the Saint Marc Pub-Café in Huntington Beach, California. According to Carillo, her sister and her friend were seated first, and the waiter asked them for their “proof of residency” when they ordered a drink.
Carillo’s friend was in shock and repeated the question to the waiter, whose response was, “Yeah, I need to make sure you’re from here before I serve you.” After Carillo and her other friend were seated, the waiter returned to also ask them about their “proof of residency.” At that point, Carillo and her friends had enough and left their table to speak with Saint Marc’s manager.
“How many others has he said this to?” Carillo wrote on her Facebook post. “I hope that this employee is reprimanded for his actions. No establishment should tolerate discriminatory actions from employees.”
Carillo’s post has been shared more than 1,700 times on the social media site and has gotten over 900 comments.
According to The Washington Post, the restaurant’s management contacted Carillo and offered a VIP experience at Saint Marc. They also pledged to donate 10 percent of the week’s proceeds to a non-profit organization of the group’s choice. Carillo and her group declined the free meal but asked that Saint Marc should donate the money to Orange County Immigrant Youth United.
On Tuesday, March 21, the restaurant released a statement on its official Facebook page, saying that they have donated to the non-profit on behalf of Carillo.
“It is our hope the donation will not only assist the organization but shed light on the fact that all people in the United States should be treated fairly and equally, especially in a country built from a melting pot of cultures,” said the Saint Marc team.
Saint Marc senior director of operations Kent Berden told The Washington Post that the waiter who asked for the women’s IDs had been fired.
“I don’t know if he had an agenda or not,” said Berden. “My concern is he violated a company policy. We’re very specific about how we treat our guests.”
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