Applebee's Statement Regarding Racial Profiling Incident

Applebee’s Statement Regarding Racial Profiling Incident

Applebee’s normally makes it to trending Twitter hashtags via their insane happy hour deals…but today, an aggressive instance of racism and profiling has the restaurant chain on everyone’s minds.

After two Black patrons were accosted by police, restaurant management, and mall officers accusing them of being a different set of African American diners who ate at the restaurant the day PRIOR and didn’t pay for their food (because, you know, we all look the same), a spokesperson for the chain has issued the following statement:

“We recognize the hurt and pain caused by the recent incident at an Applebee’s restaurant in Independence, Mo. We very much regret this occurred and sincerely apologize to our guests and community. After an internal investigation and in-line with our values, the franchisee terminated the manager, server and another employee involved in the incident. We do not tolerate racism, bigotry or harassment of any nature, and we have taken additional steps to close the restaurant at this time in order for the team there to regroup, reflect, learn and grow from this. We are reaching out to the guests involved to apologize directly. We know rebuilding trust with those affected by the incident will take time, and we look forward to finding resolution in the coming days.”

Well, at least the folks at that franchise who have no idea how to differentiate African American faces, heights, hairstyles, etc. have been handled accordingly. What do you think of Applebee’s actions regarding the incident?

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