McFadden’s Restaurant an Saloon has responded to a lawsuit claiming that the restaurant management is racist, saying that the bartender who filed the suit was given fewer shifts because he was not outgoing enough -- not because he is black, reports the Daily News.
Michael Bolden, a lawyer and baretender, filed suit against the popular bar claiming that the establishment discourages non-white patrons from coming in.
Among other things, Bolden states in the suit that McFadden’s canceled a weekly promotion called “Alternative Wednesdays” that was run by an African American promoter.
Bolden also claims that a general manager of the restaurant sent a text message to a supervisor about Alternative Wednesdays saying, “We don’t want black people, we are a white bar.”
McFadden’s filed a response to Bolden’s suit Tuesday, saying that Bolden was given fewer shifts because of his “less outgoing personality” that did not promote the bar, reports the Daily News.
McFadden’s response doesn’t address the accusation that restaurant manager Walt Wyrsta sent the racist text message, though in a statement Friday McFadden’s said Wyrsta has been suspended until an investigation is completed. The bar said the alleged text message was “offensive and reprehensible,” reports the Daily News.
