IHOP Fires Workers After Investigation Of Racist Treatment Of Black Couple

The IHOP manager said the server is just 'picky' about who she serves.

A Mesquite, TX IHOP franchise has fired several workers after they were accused by a couple of refusing them service because they were Black. CBS Texas reported that Keisha Mitchell and Elvis Polley stopped at the IHOP location to celebrate Polley’s 49th birthday, when a server told them that she wouldn’t be serving them because of the color of their skin.

Mitchell told the outlet, “When we got to the restaurant, we were told that we were not going to be serviced because of our color,” Mitchell said. “It is a shock, and your brain is not processing what you’re hearing.”

Mitchell also pushed back against the IHOP manager on duty’s assertion that the server is just “picky” about who she serves. The conversation was recorded in the video Mitchell captured. “She didn’t want to say she was racist, she said she’s ‘picky.’ No, that’s not being ‘picky’ if you’re selecting only a certain group of people that you want to serve,” Mitchell said.

That manager also told the pair that the server had been employed by IHOP for 25 years, but IHOP’s parent company, Anthraper Restaurants, sent a statement via email to CBS Texas indicating their displeasure at what occurred. While they did not apologize directly, they did conduct a full investigation and promised to conduct anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training for their employees.

“Since our founding, we have strived to create warm and hospitable dining experiences for all guests, and we have zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind, or actions that allude to any form of discrimination,” the company said.

The statement continued, “We have fully investigated this matter and taken appropriate actions, including termination of the employees involved. This isolated incident is not reflective of our ongoing commitment to our guests and Team Members. Additionally, we will be providing additional anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training, ensuring that all remaining Team Members understand the company’s unwavering intolerance of any prohibited form of discrimination.”

Though the couple say that IHOP did the right thing by firing the employees involved, including the manager and another waitress, they believe the damage has already been done. Polley told CBS Texas that he has been having trouble sleeping since the incident occurred. “Just a traumatizing feeling you know? You can’t get it out your head and I’m having sleepless nights…It is draining,” he said.

Mitchell chimed in, saying that she now questions exactly how much progress America has made in terms of racial equality and treating people fairly, telling CBS Texas, “It opened the door that I never wanted to walk through,” Mitchell added. “Have we, have we come as far as we think? Or is it just being hidden more?”