On August 3, Elijah Henderson Jr. was allegedly turned away from a Denny’s in Lake City, Florida, after he told the cashier that there would be approximately 25 people in his group.
According to Henderson, the cashier told him that the restaurant couldn’t accommodate the large group because only she and a single cook were on the clock at the time.
Henderson left the restaurant and began a Facebook Live video, referring to what happened as “modern day racism,” adding that he believes the cashier claimed she couldn’t accommodate his party because they were “African American.” According to Henderson, a white family came in behind him, and they were accommodated.
He also called what happened “a crime and a shame.”
News4 reports that Denny’s corporate office released a statement regarding the incident, which reads: “We were shocked by the unacceptable experience our guests received recently at our Lake City, Florida, location, and sincerely apologize. We simply do not tolerate discrimination of any kind in our restaurants.”
The Denny’s Corporation sent an additional statement to The Daily Wire claiming that the employee who interacted with Henderson exhibited “significantly poor judgment,” and was terminated:
At Denny’s, our desire is to be a bright spot in our communities, welcoming all and serving all 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We pride ourselves in our extraordinary workforce, supplier and franchise diversity to assure a welcoming environment that is genuine and sincere. We simply do not tolerate discrimination of any kind in our restaurants. Our investigation concluded significantly poor judgment by the employee which resulted in termination of employment. We take all such matters seriously and all actions necessary to address swiftly and appropriately.“
The Daily Wire spoke with Henderson, who truly believes the incident was racially motivated:
DW: Is it at all possible that what took place was simply bad customer service, and had nothing to do with race?
HENDERSON: No, I think it was racial. I really do because the cook came from the back and said, “I’m not gonna kill myself taking care of those people – y’all people.” Why do we have to be “y’all people” or “those people?” Why can’t we just be regular people?
Why couldn’t he call the manager, who was out back smoking a cigarette, and say, “Hey, we’ve got a group of about 25 coming; we want to just go ahead and get started,” and let that be it. You don’t have anything to say. You’re not the manager. If there was an issue about understaffing, the manager should have come out and spoken with me, not just “we can’t accommodate you.”
DW: Was it the cook’s remark that made you believe the incident was racial?
HENDERSON: It was the cashier’s remark because she had an attitude when we first walked in.
DW: So it was combination of the cashier’s attitude, and the cook’s remark?
HENDERSON: The cashier’s attitude, the cook’s response, and the manager not coming in to even greet us or tell us they were short-staffed. You’re a 24-hour establishment open on Tax Free Weekend, one of the busiest weekends of the year, and this is how you treat me?
According to Henderson, there was another African-American couple who were waiting to be seated while he was being denied service. When Henderson left, the couple allegedly left with him, and told him that he shouldn’t have been treated that way by the Denny’s employees.
In a Facebook video posted on August 9, Henderson says he isn’t satisfied with the way Denny’s has handled the situation, adding that the termination of the employee who denied him service “isn’t good enough.” He goes on to broaden his critique, saying he’s experienced racial incidents at other Denny’s restaurants, including one time when he had to wait multiple hours to be served:
From Tallahassee to Miami, all the Denny’s, it’s all racially motivated or racially driven on how they feed you and what they say to you and how they act whenever you walk into the store.
Henderson also stated that he has his “attorney on standby,” and that he’s attempted to reach out to Al Sharpton.
The Daily Wire has reached out to Denny’s corporate in order to clarify the situation regarding the internal investigation and the termination of the cashier, but as of publication, we have only received the official statement printed above.