The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is asking the Red Lobster, located in Rochester, Minnesota; for a written apology after a Muslim family claimed to experience racial discrimination by the restaurant’s servers, according to CBS Minnesota.
Representing the family, the Minnesota chapter of the CAIR stated that a disagreement occurred on May 28th, when the family requested water to break their Ramadan fast, a religious observance where Muslims do not eat or drink from sunrise until sundown.
The family says their repeated requests for water were continuously dismissed by the servers. After waiting for at least 20 minutes, they decided to address their concerns about potential racial bias to the manager, who allegedly responded with “You people love to play the race card whenever you can.”
The family also claimed that servers were delivering derogatory remarks towards their religious observance, reportedly stating that “A Muslim hit my car the other day because she was too hungry to drive in Ramadan. I almost got injured because of Ramadan”.
CAIR asserts that the family’s experience in Red Lobster is a violation of federal civil rights laws, and demands Red Lobster to take accountability for their actions, by paying compensation for their harassment and strengthening their anti-discrimination policies.
Red Lobster sent the following statement to KROC. “We welcome everyone in our restaurants for a great seafood dining experience. All our guests should be treated equally and given the respect they deserve. Since this is an open legal matter, I can’t share any additional information at this time.”
A manager at the Rochester Red Lobster told CBS Minnesota that he had been sent from Illinois and that the previous management team had been replaced.
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