Two sides of the same story...interesting look at perception

[Hokie5150]

Side One:

Blacks Asked to Leave Wild Wing Cafe because White Customer Felt Threatened
– POSTED ON AUGUST 24, 2013

Once again we are witnessing the true power of social media. You are hearing about this story because one man posted about his experience on Facebook at a Wild Wing Cafe in North Charleston, SC, where his friends and family suffered some “1960′s” style discrimination.

A group of 25 Black people waited two hours to get in a Wild Wing Cafe restaurant in North Charleston, South Carolina, only to be asked to leave almost immediately after entering the restaurant because a white customer felt “threatened” by their presence. One member of the group, MIchael Brown, took his complaint to Facebook when the corporate office of the restaurant did not call him back after placing several calls.

Mr. Brown says he was celebrating his cousin’s last day in Charleston last month at Wild Wing Cafe in North Charleston. He says after his party of 25 peacefully waited two hours for a table, the shift manager told them there was a “situation.”

“She said there’s a situation where one of our customers feels threatened by your party, so she asked us not to seat you in our section, which totally alarmed all of us because we’re sitting there peaceably for two hours,” explains Brown. “Obviously, if we were causing any conflict, we would have been ejected out of the place hours before.”

Brown says while he was talking to the shift manager, someone in his group began videotaping the conversation. Brown says that’s when the manager became upset and refused to seat them.

“I asked her I want to be clear with you,” says Brown. “I said so you’re telling me I have to leave. She said I have a right to deny you service. I said so you’re asking me to leave because you’re upset because he was recording you, after we’ve waited for two hours, and after you’ve already pretty much discriminated on us, and she answered yes.”

Brown told WNEM TV 5 news that several calls were made to the corporate office in Mt. Pleasant, but he says they did not receive a call back, so he posted about his experience on Facebook.

His Facebook post read, “I will never go to Wild wings cafe in N. Chs again! We (Party of 25 family and friends) waited 2hrs, patiently and were refused service because another customer (White) felt threatened by us. This type of racial discrimination is unacceptable and we have to put a STOP TO IT. The manager looked me dead in the face and said she was refusing us service because she had a right to and simply she felt like it. DO NOT SUPPORT THIS ESTABLISHMENT… PLEASE SHARE THIS POST… We need your help.”

Once his post went live and began to circulate around Facebook, he finally got a response from Wild Wings Cafe corporate office. ” We got alerted through social media, so we always encourage our customers to respond to us or to comment on our social media pages,” says Debra Stokes, the chief marketing officer for Wild Wing Cafe.

“We had a conversation,” says Stokes. “It was a really good conversation. He and many of his family and friends were there about a month ago, and they are regular customers of ours. So, they were having a going away party, and they just didn’t receive the experience that they have come to know and love.”

Brown says an apology was offered and a free meal for the entire group, but he says he’s not completely satisfied.

“We weren’t coming there for a free meal. When we came there that night, we were coming to patronize the business. This is not a situation where you can just give us a free meal and everything is ok because it’s deeper than that.” See an employee of Wild Wings’different account of the events

Side Two:

Woman from Wild Wings Contacts Radio Facts, States Black Patrons Asked to Leave for Several Reasons
– POSTED ON AUGUST 26, 2013

Woman from Wild Wings Contacts Radio Facts, States Black Patrons Asked to Leave for Several ReasonsA woman contacted Radio Facts who works at the Wild Wings restaurant that asked the black patrons to leave. and asked that we allow her to be anonymous. She states there are several reasons the group was asked to leave (below) Radiofacts.com,

You’re only getting one side of story here. I work at the restaurant and your representation of the events is way off base. The group was being loud and obnoxious to both customers and staffers. They kept complaining about their long wait and were talking about how “whitey” was able to get seated, but they were not. The problem was that they had a large group and insisted on sitting next to each other. We only had one area that could accommodate their large group and the patrons in that area were not done. So yes, some “whities” were able to be seated before them, but only because they were going to a different area. We also seated non-whites in other areas too…They made this a racial issue before anything. One of the guests also insulted a deaf white girl because she didn’t respond to one of them telling her to move (she was deaf and didn’t hear them) They were also all standing in the middle of the walk way, making it difficult for customers to leave. We asked them if they could move over, but they said they can stand wherever they want, and if we wanted them out of the way then we should seat them. The customer that was offended was offended by a particular individual’s constant uses of the word “n*gger” When asked to stop, he threw out a long string of racial epithets against one of my co-workers.

[Florida Hokie]

Why would anyone wait for 2 hours to eat wings?

Side One:

Blacks Asked to Leave Wild Wing Cafe because White Customer Felt Threatened
– POSTED ON AUGUST 24, 2013

Once again we are witnessing the true power of social media. You are hearing about this story because one man posted about his experience on Facebook at a Wild Wing Cafe in North Charleston, SC, where his friends and family suffered some “1960′s” style discrimination.

A group of 25 Black people waited two hours to get in a Wild Wing Cafe restaurant in North Charleston, South Carolina, only to be asked to leave almost immediately after entering the restaurant because a white customer felt “threatened” by their presence. One member of the group, MIchael Brown, took his complaint to Facebook when the corporate office of the restaurant did not call him back after placing several calls.

Mr. Brown says he was celebrating his cousin’s last day in Charleston last month at Wild Wing Cafe in North Charleston. He says after his party of 25 peacefully waited two hours for a table, the shift manager told them there was a “situation.”

“She said there’s a situation where one of our customers feels threatened by your party, so she asked us not to seat you in our section, which totally alarmed all of us because we’re sitting there peaceably for two hours,” explains Brown. “Obviously, if we were causing any conflict, we would have been ejected out of the place hours before.”

Brown says while he was talking to the shift manager, someone in his group began videotaping the conversation. Brown says that’s when the manager became upset and refused to seat them.

“I asked her I want to be clear with you,” says Brown. “I said so you’re telling me I have to leave. She said I have a right to deny you service. I said so you’re asking me to leave because you’re upset because he was recording you, after we’ve waited for two hours, and after you’ve already pretty much discriminated on us, and she answered yes.”

Brown told WNEM TV 5 news that several calls were made to the corporate office in Mt. Pleasant, but he says they did not receive a call back, so he posted about his experience on Facebook.

His Facebook post read, “I will never go to Wild wings cafe in N. Chs again! We (Party of 25 family and friends) waited 2hrs, patiently and were refused service because another customer (White) felt threatened by us. This type of racial discrimination is unacceptable and we have to put a STOP TO IT. The manager looked me dead in the face and said she was refusing us service because she had a right to and simply she felt like it. DO NOT SUPPORT THIS ESTABLISHMENT… PLEASE SHARE THIS POST… We need your help.”

Once his post went live and began to circulate around Facebook, he finally got a response from Wild Wings Cafe corporate office. ” We got alerted through social media, so we always encourage our customers to respond to us or to comment on our social media pages,” says Debra Stokes, the chief marketing officer for Wild Wing Cafe.

“We had a conversation,” says Stokes. “It was a really good conversation. He and many of his family and friends were there about a month ago, and they are regular customers of ours. So, they were having a going away party, and they just didn’t receive the experience that they have come to know and love.”

Brown says an apology was offered and a free meal for the entire group, but he says he’s not completely satisfied.

“We weren’t coming there for a free meal. When we came there that night, we were coming to patronize the business. This is not a situation where you can just give us a free meal and everything is ok because it’s deeper than that.” See an employee of Wild Wings’different account of the events

Side Two:

Woman from Wild Wings Contacts Radio Facts, States Black Patrons Asked to Leave for Several Reasons
– POSTED ON AUGUST 26, 2013

Woman from Wild Wings Contacts Radio Facts, States Black Patrons Asked to Leave for Several ReasonsA woman contacted Radio Facts who works at the Wild Wings restaurant that asked the black patrons to leave. and asked that we allow her to be anonymous. She states there are several reasons the group was asked to leave (below) Radiofacts.com,

You’re only getting one side of story here. I work at the restaurant and your representation of the events is way off base. The group was being loud and obnoxious to both customers and staffers. They kept complaining about their long wait and were talking about how “whitey” was able to get seated, but they were not. The problem was that they had a large group and insisted on sitting next to each other. We only had one area that could accommodate their large group and the patrons in that area were not done. So yes, some “whities” were able to be seated before them, but only because they were going to a different area. We also seated non-whites in other areas too…They made this a racial issue before anything. One of the guests also insulted a deaf white girl because she didn’t respond to one of them telling her to move (she was deaf and didn’t hear them) They were also all standing in the middle of the walk way, making it difficult for customers to leave. We asked them if they could move over, but they said they can stand wherever they want, and if we wanted them out of the way then we should seat them. The customer that was offended was offended by a particular individual’s constant uses of the word “n*gger” When asked to stop, he threw out a long string of racial epithets against one of my co-workers.

[awesome guy]

Side One:

Blacks Asked to Leave Wild Wing Cafe because White Customer Felt Threatened
– POSTED ON AUGUST 24, 2013

Once again we are witnessing the true power of social media. You are hearing about this story because one man posted about his experience on Facebook at a Wild Wing Cafe in North Charleston, SC, where his friends and family suffered some “1960′s” style discrimination.

A group of 25 Black people waited two hours to get in a Wild Wing Cafe restaurant in North Charleston, South Carolina, only to be asked to leave almost immediately after entering the restaurant because a white customer felt “threatened” by their presence. One member of the group, MIchael Brown, took his complaint to Facebook when the corporate office of the restaurant did not call him back after placing several calls.

Mr. Brown says he was celebrating his cousin’s last day in Charleston last month at Wild Wing Cafe in North Charleston. He says after his party of 25 peacefully waited two hours for a table, the shift manager told them there was a “situation.”

“She said there’s a situation where one of our customers feels threatened by your party, so she asked us not to seat you in our section, which totally alarmed all of us because we’re sitting there peaceably for two hours,” explains Brown. “Obviously, if we were causing any conflict, we would have been ejected out of the place hours before.”

Brown says while he was talking to the shift manager, someone in his group began videotaping the conversation. Brown says that’s when the manager became upset and refused to seat them.

“I asked her I want to be clear with you,” says Brown. “I said so you’re telling me I have to leave. She said I have a right to deny you service. I said so you’re asking me to leave because you’re upset because he was recording you, after we’ve waited for two hours, and after you’ve already pretty much discriminated on us, and she answered yes.”

Brown told WNEM TV 5 news that several calls were made to the corporate office in Mt. Pleasant, but he says they did not receive a call back, so he posted about his experience on Facebook.

His Facebook post read, “I will never go to Wild wings cafe in N. Chs again! We (Party of 25 family and friends) waited 2hrs, patiently and were refused service because another customer (White) felt threatened by us. This type of racial discrimination is unacceptable and we have to put a STOP TO IT. The manager looked me dead in the face and said she was refusing us service because she had a right to and simply she felt like it. DO NOT SUPPORT THIS ESTABLISHMENT… PLEASE SHARE THIS POST… We need your help.”

Once his post went live and began to circulate around Facebook, he finally got a response from Wild Wings Cafe corporate office. ” We got alerted through social media, so we always encourage our customers to respond to us or to comment on our social media pages,” says Debra Stokes, the chief marketing officer for Wild Wing Cafe.

“We had a conversation,” says Stokes. “It was a really good conversation. He and many of his family and friends were there about a month ago, and they are regular customers of ours. So, they were having a going away party, and they just didn’t receive the experience that they have come to know and love.”

Brown says an apology was offered and a free meal for the entire group, but he says he’s not completely satisfied.

“We weren’t coming there for a free meal. When we came there that night, we were coming to patronize the business. This is not a situation where you can just give us a free meal and everything is ok because it’s deeper than that.” See an employee of Wild Wings’different account of the events

Side Two:

Woman from Wild Wings Contacts Radio Facts, States Black Patrons Asked to Leave for Several Reasons
– POSTED ON AUGUST 26, 2013

Woman from Wild Wings Contacts Radio Facts, States Black Patrons Asked to Leave for Several ReasonsA woman contacted Radio Facts who works at the Wild Wings restaurant that asked the black patrons to leave. and asked that we allow her to be anonymous. She states there are several reasons the group was asked to leave (below) Radiofacts.com,

You’re only getting one side of story here. I work at the restaurant and your representation of the events is way off base. The group was being loud and obnoxious to both customers and staffers. They kept complaining about their long wait and were talking about how “whitey” was able to get seated, but they were not. The problem was that they had a large group and insisted on sitting next to each other. We only had one area that could accommodate their large group and the patrons in that area were not done. So yes, some “whities” were able to be seated before them, but only because they were going to a different area. We also seated non-whites in other areas too…They made this a racial issue before anything. One of the guests also insulted a deaf white girl because she didn’t respond to one of them telling her to move (she was deaf and didn’t hear them) They were also all standing in the middle of the walk way, making it difficult for customers to leave. We asked them if they could move over, but they said they can stand wherever they want, and if we wanted them out of the way then we should seat them. The customer that was offended was offended by a particular individual’s constant uses of the word “n*gger” When asked to stop, he threw out a long string of racial epithets against one of my co-workers.

And that epitomizes race in America today. Hoodlums think claim they're discriminated against because of their race, but it's because they're hoodlums. A similarly acting group of whites would receive the same treatment. Race is a crutch for these lost souls to rest their woes. They need to understand they're being judged by what's in their heart and what comes out their mouth, not their skin color.

[nolanvt]

Side One:

Blacks Asked to Leave Wild Wing Cafe because White Customer Felt Threatened
– POSTED ON AUGUST 24, 2013

Once again we are witnessing the true power of social media. You are hearing about this story because one man posted about his experience on Facebook at a Wild Wing Cafe in North Charleston, SC, where his friends and family suffered some “1960′s” style discrimination.

A group of 25 Black people waited two hours to get in a Wild Wing Cafe restaurant in North Charleston, South Carolina, only to be asked to leave almost immediately after entering the restaurant because a white customer felt “threatened” by their presence. One member of the group, MIchael Brown, took his complaint to Facebook when the corporate office of the restaurant did not call him back after placing several calls.

Mr. Brown says he was celebrating his cousin’s last day in Charleston last month at Wild Wing Cafe in North Charleston. He says after his party of 25 peacefully waited two hours for a table, the shift manager told them there was a “situation.”

“She said there’s a situation where one of our customers feels threatened by your party, so she asked us not to seat you in our section, which totally alarmed all of us because we’re sitting there peaceably for two hours,” explains Brown. “Obviously, if we were causing any conflict, we would have been ejected out of the place hours before.”

Brown says while he was talking to the shift manager, someone in his group began videotaping the conversation. Brown says that’s when the manager became upset and refused to seat them.

“I asked her I want to be clear with you,” says Brown. “I said so you’re telling me I have to leave. She said I have a right to deny you service. I said so you’re asking me to leave because you’re upset because he was recording you, after we’ve waited for two hours, and after you’ve already pretty much discriminated on us, and she answered yes.”

Brown told WNEM TV 5 news that several calls were made to the corporate office in Mt. Pleasant, but he says they did not receive a call back, so he posted about his experience on Facebook.

His Facebook post read, “I will never go to Wild wings cafe in N. Chs again! We (Party of 25 family and friends) waited 2hrs, patiently and were refused service because another customer (White) felt threatened by us. This type of racial discrimination is unacceptable and we have to put a STOP TO IT. The manager looked me dead in the face and said she was refusing us service because she had a right to and simply she felt like it. DO NOT SUPPORT THIS ESTABLISHMENT… PLEASE SHARE THIS POST… We need your help.”

Once his post went live and began to circulate around Facebook, he finally got a response from Wild Wings Cafe corporate office. ” We got alerted through social media, so we always encourage our customers to respond to us or to comment on our social media pages,” says Debra Stokes, the chief marketing officer for Wild Wing Cafe.

“We had a conversation,” says Stokes. “It was a really good conversation. He and many of his family and friends were there about a month ago, and they are regular customers of ours. So, they were having a going away party, and they just didn’t receive the experience that they have come to know and love.”

Brown says an apology was offered and a free meal for the entire group, but he says he’s not completely satisfied.

“We weren’t coming there for a free meal. When we came there that night, we were coming to patronize the business. This is not a situation where you can just give us a free meal and everything is ok because it’s deeper than that.” See an employee of Wild Wings’different account of the events

Side Two:

Woman from Wild Wings Contacts Radio Facts, States Black Patrons Asked to Leave for Several Reasons
– POSTED ON AUGUST 26, 2013

Woman from Wild Wings Contacts Radio Facts, States Black Patrons Asked to Leave for Several ReasonsA woman contacted Radio Facts who works at the Wild Wings restaurant that asked the black patrons to leave. and asked that we allow her to be anonymous. She states there are several reasons the group was asked to leave (below) Radiofacts.com,

You’re only getting one side of story here. I work at the restaurant and your representation of the events is way off base. The group was being loud and obnoxious to both customers and staffers. They kept complaining about their long wait and were talking about how “whitey” was able to get seated, but they were not. The problem was that they had a large group and insisted on sitting next to each other. We only had one area that could accommodate their large group and the patrons in that area were not done. So yes, some “whities” were able to be seated before them, but only because they were going to a different area. We also seated non-whites in other areas too…They made this a racial issue before anything. One of the guests also insulted a deaf white girl because she didn’t respond to one of them telling her to move (she was deaf and didn’t hear them) They were also all standing in the middle of the walk way, making it difficult for customers to leave. We asked them if they could move over, but they said they can stand wherever they want, and if we wanted them out of the way then we should seat them. The customer that was offended was offended by a particular individual’s constant uses of the word “n*gger” When asked to stop, he threw out a long string of racial epithets against one of my co-workers.

I've pretty much developed the attitude that everyone telling accounts of stories that I didn't witness are liars and not to believe anyone.

[Hokie5150]

Why would anyone wait for 2 hours to eat wings?

Yeah...I don't get the whole wings phenomena. Over-priced scrap meat...

[cwtcr hokie]

I am with Flo ho, who waits two hours at a wing place???? But the other side is 25 together is a very large party, not easy to seat that type of party together. I can understand their frustration of not getting seated but do any of them have the common sense to figure out that sitting 25 together on a smaller place like wild wing was problematic at best?

Why would anyone wait for 2 hours to eat wings?

Yeah...I don't get the whole wings phenomena. Over-priced scrap meat...

[BigDave]

I like wings - when they're good wings. I can't imagine wings at a chain being remotely edible.

And I've got to think that if I had 25 people going to a function, I would make arrangements IN ADVANCE. You don't have 25 people just chilling out for two hours waiting for a table. I don't care if they're white, black, orange, or maroon - restaurants have no interest in accommodating a mass of people just hanging out.

I was at a nice place last week and there was a large mass of people congregated outside for what, based on the way everyone was dressed, looked like a pretty formal occasion. (I thought at the time it might have been a wedding rehearsal dinner, but it was Sunday, which would seem like an odd day for that ... so it could have just been a large group going there after church or something.) There were two guys dressed in very formal outfits standing blocking the entrance looking like they were bouncers. Had the people I was with not already gone inside, I might have thought that the restaurant was closed for a private function. I never did see their group get seated and I'm pretty sure that they hadn't already eaten ... so I have no idea what happened that caused them to abandon the effort, but I'm imagining if they were hanging around the entrance instead of going straight back to the room that is used for private meetings and such, it means that they didn't have it reserved.

Maybe I'm crazy (I plan EVERYTHING) but if I had a large group of people going to a restaurant, I would not attempt it without making arrangements in advance.

Why would anyone wait for 2 hours to eat wings?

Yeah...I don't get the whole wings phenomena. Over-priced scrap meat...

[awesome guy]

Why would anyone wait for 2 hours to eat wings?

Yeah...I don't get the whole wings phenomena. Over-priced scrap meat...

delicious dark meat. Tender and juicy, plus spiced up. I get it, but ain't waiting 2 hours for them.

I love how marketers operate. They turn what was scrap into a high profit item as you say. They do this with lots of stuff, like Chilean sea bass(Patagonian toothfish) which isn't a bass and was a by-catch until marketing it as "sea bass". It was scrap turned into gold. Tilapia too. They're sheet eaters. They're on the market because they're used in striped bass farms. After having a big pile of useless fish, they invented a market for them so they're now profitable too. Marketers get a bad rep from the dishonesty in their business, but they also make society better by tricking people into valuing what was previously considered waste. In an non obvious way, they make society not only consume scrap, but desire it and come back for more. It's brilliant.

[awesome guy]

I am with Flo ho, who waits two hours at a wing place???? But the other side is 25 together is a very large party, not easy to seat that type of party together. I can understand their frustration of not getting seated but do any of them have the common sense to figure out that sitting 25 together on a smaller place like wild wing was problematic at best?

Why would anyone wait for 2 hours to eat wings?

Yeah...I don't get the whole wings phenomena. Over-priced scrap meat...

and they didn't have the foresight to call ahead.

[Once]

Yep. Exactly. I am suspicious of everyone if I don't know their motives..

I wouldn't wait 30 minutes for wings. Too much work for stringy meat... I also feel that way about shrimp though, but that has to do with the fact that it was on the table 4 nights a week growing up (like people from Maine with lobster). I've peeled and deheaded thousands of pounds of shrimp and I'm kinda over it. Not worth it to me.

I've pretty much developed the attitude that everyone telling accounts of stories that I didn't witness are liars and not to believe anyone.

[ip_law-hokie]

Because well prepared chicken wings are delicious.

Why would anyone wait for 2 hours to eat wings?

Side One:

Blacks Asked to Leave Wild Wing Cafe because White Customer Felt Threatened
– POSTED ON AUGUST 24, 2013

Once again we are witnessing the true power of social media. You are hearing about this story because one man posted about his experience on Facebook at a Wild Wing Cafe in North Charleston, SC, where his friends and family suffered some “1960′s” style discrimination.

A group of 25 Black people waited two hours to get in a Wild Wing Cafe restaurant in North Charleston, South Carolina, only to be asked to leave almost immediately after entering the restaurant because a white customer felt “threatened” by their presence. One member of the group, MIchael Brown, took his complaint to Facebook when the corporate office of the restaurant did not call him back after placing several calls.

Mr. Brown says he was celebrating his cousin’s last day in Charleston last month at Wild Wing Cafe in North Charleston. He says after his party of 25 peacefully waited two hours for a table, the shift manager told them there was a “situation.”

“She said there’s a situation where one of our customers feels threatened by your party, so she asked us not to seat you in our section, which totally alarmed all of us because we’re sitting there peaceably for two hours,” explains Brown. “Obviously, if we were causing any conflict, we would have been ejected out of the place hours before.”

Brown says while he was talking to the shift manager, someone in his group began videotaping the conversation. Brown says that’s when the manager became upset and refused to seat them.

“I asked her I want to be clear with you,” says Brown. “I said so you’re telling me I have to leave. She said I have a right to deny you service. I said so you’re asking me to leave because you’re upset because he was recording you, after we’ve waited for two hours, and after you’ve already pretty much discriminated on us, and she answered yes.”

Brown told WNEM TV 5 news that several calls were made to the corporate office in Mt. Pleasant, but he says they did not receive a call back, so he posted about his experience on Facebook.

His Facebook post read, “I will never go to Wild wings cafe in N. Chs again! We (Party of 25 family and friends) waited 2hrs, patiently and were refused service because another customer (White) felt threatened by us. This type of racial discrimination is unacceptable and we have to put a STOP TO IT. The manager looked me dead in the face and said she was refusing us service because she had a right to and simply she felt like it. DO NOT SUPPORT THIS ESTABLISHMENT… PLEASE SHARE THIS POST… We need your help.”

Once his post went live and began to circulate around Facebook, he finally got a response from Wild Wings Cafe corporate office. ” We got alerted through social media, so we always encourage our customers to respond to us or to comment on our social media pages,” says Debra Stokes, the chief marketing officer for Wild Wing Cafe.

“We had a conversation,” says Stokes. “It was a really good conversation. He and many of his family and friends were there about a month ago, and they are regular customers of ours. So, they were having a going away party, and they just didn’t receive the experience that they have come to know and love.”

Brown says an apology was offered and a free meal for the entire group, but he says he’s not completely satisfied.

“We weren’t coming there for a free meal. When we came there that night, we were coming to patronize the business. This is not a situation where you can just give us a free meal and everything is ok because it’s deeper than that.” See an employee of Wild Wings’different account of the events

Side Two:

Woman from Wild Wings Contacts Radio Facts, States Black Patrons Asked to Leave for Several Reasons
– POSTED ON AUGUST 26, 2013

Woman from Wild Wings Contacts Radio Facts, States Black Patrons Asked to Leave for Several ReasonsA woman contacted Radio Facts who works at the Wild Wings restaurant that asked the black patrons to leave. and asked that we allow her to be anonymous. She states there are several reasons the group was asked to leave (below) Radiofacts.com,

You’re only getting one side of story here. I work at the restaurant and your representation of the events is way off base. The group was being loud and obnoxious to both customers and staffers. They kept complaining about their long wait and were talking about how “whitey” was able to get seated, but they were not. The problem was that they had a large group and insisted on sitting next to each other. We only had one area that could accommodate their large group and the patrons in that area were not done. So yes, some “whities” were able to be seated before them, but only because they were going to a different area. We also seated non-whites in other areas too…They made this a racial issue before anything. One of the guests also insulted a deaf white girl because she didn’t respond to one of them telling her to move (she was deaf and didn’t hear them) They were also all standing in the middle of the walk way, making it difficult for customers to leave. We asked them if they could move over, but they said they can stand wherever they want, and if we wanted them out of the way then we should seat them. The customer that was offended was offended by a particular individual’s constant uses of the word “n*gger” When asked to stop, he threw out a long string of racial epithets against one of my co-workers.

[USN_Hokie]

Side One:

Blacks Asked to Leave Wild Wing Cafe because White Customer Felt Threatened
– POSTED ON AUGUST 24, 2013

Once again we are witnessing the true power of social media. You are hearing about this story because one man posted about his experience on Facebook at a Wild Wing Cafe in North Charleston, SC, where his friends and family suffered some “1960′s” style discrimination.

A group of 25 Black people waited two hours to get in a Wild Wing Cafe restaurant in North Charleston, South Carolina, only to be asked to leave almost immediately after entering the restaurant because a white customer felt “threatened” by their presence. One member of the group, MIchael Brown, took his complaint to Facebook when the corporate office of the restaurant did not call him back after placing several calls.

Mr. Brown says he was celebrating his cousin’s last day in Charleston last month at Wild Wing Cafe in North Charleston. He says after his party of 25 peacefully waited two hours for a table, the shift manager told them there was a “situation.”

“She said there’s a situation where one of our customers feels threatened by your party, so she asked us not to seat you in our section, which totally alarmed all of us because we’re sitting there peaceably for two hours,” explains Brown. “Obviously, if we were causing any conflict, we would have been ejected out of the place hours before.”

Brown says while he was talking to the shift manager, someone in his group began videotaping the conversation. Brown says that’s when the manager became upset and refused to seat them.

“I asked her I want to be clear with you,” says Brown. “I said so you’re telling me I have to leave. She said I have a right to deny you service. I said so you’re asking me to leave because you’re upset because he was recording you, after we’ve waited for two hours, and after you’ve already pretty much discriminated on us, and she answered yes.”

Brown told WNEM TV 5 news that several calls were made to the corporate office in Mt. Pleasant, but he says they did not receive a call back, so he posted about his experience on Facebook.

His Facebook post read, “I will never go to Wild wings cafe in N. Chs again! We (Party of 25 family and friends) waited 2hrs, patiently and were refused service because another customer (White) felt threatened by us. This type of racial discrimination is unacceptable and we have to put a STOP TO IT. The manager looked me dead in the face and said she was refusing us service because she had a right to and simply she felt like it. DO NOT SUPPORT THIS ESTABLISHMENT… PLEASE SHARE THIS POST… We need your help.”

Once his post went live and began to circulate around Facebook, he finally got a response from Wild Wings Cafe corporate office. ” We got alerted through social media, so we always encourage our customers to respond to us or to comment on our social media pages,” says Debra Stokes, the chief marketing officer for Wild Wing Cafe.

“We had a conversation,” says Stokes. “It was a really good conversation. He and many of his family and friends were there about a month ago, and they are regular customers of ours. So, they were having a going away party, and they just didn’t receive the experience that they have come to know and love.”

Brown says an apology was offered and a free meal for the entire group, but he says he’s not completely satisfied.

“We weren’t coming there for a free meal. When we came there that night, we were coming to patronize the business. This is not a situation where you can just give us a free meal and everything is ok because it’s deeper than that.” See an employee of Wild Wings’different account of the events

Side Two:

Woman from Wild Wings Contacts Radio Facts, States Black Patrons Asked to Leave for Several Reasons
– POSTED ON AUGUST 26, 2013

Woman from Wild Wings Contacts Radio Facts, States Black Patrons Asked to Leave for Several ReasonsA woman contacted Radio Facts who works at the Wild Wings restaurant that asked the black patrons to leave. and asked that we allow her to be anonymous. She states there are several reasons the group was asked to leave (below) Radiofacts.com,

You’re only getting one side of story here. I work at the restaurant and your representation of the events is way off base. The group was being loud and obnoxious to both customers and staffers. They kept complaining about their long wait and were talking about how “whitey” was able to get seated, but they were not. The problem was that they had a large group and insisted on sitting next to each other. We only had one area that could accommodate their large group and the patrons in that area were not done. So yes, some “whities” were able to be seated before them, but only because they were going to a different area. We also seated non-whites in other areas too…They made this a racial issue before anything. One of the guests also insulted a deaf white girl because she didn’t respond to one of them telling her to move (she was deaf and didn’t hear them) They were also all standing in the middle of the walk way, making it difficult for customers to leave. We asked them if they could move over, but they said they can stand wherever they want, and if we wanted them out of the way then we should seat them. The customer that was offended was offended by a particular individual’s constant uses of the word “n*gger” When asked to stop, he threw out a long string of racial epithets against one of my co-workers.

This is the type of behavior I expect at Chucky Cheese, but not BW3s! Seriously though, the second account sounds more plausible...

[awesome guy]

Yep. Exactly. I am suspicious of everyone if I don't know their motives..

I wouldn't wait 30 minutes for wings. Too much work for stringy meat... I also feel that way about shrimp though, but that has to do with the fact that it was on the table 4 nights a week growing up (like people from Maine with lobster). I've peeled and deheaded thousands of pounds of shrimp and I'm kinda over it. Not worth it to me.

I've pretty much developed the attitude that everyone telling accounts of stories that I didn't witness are liars and not to believe anyone.

I can't imagine getting to that point with shrimp. I empathize with you and your plight of "eating cake" everyday, but that's some good cake! And not just any shrimp, gulf shrimp, the best. I'm not sure if it's the oil residue, the moderate climate or what, but that is the best shrimp on the planet. Hearing your story is like a Texan tiring of steak, a North Cackalackian tiring of hogs, a Delawarean tiring of chicken. It just makes my head explode! I think Forest Gump had it right with his affection for shrimp and the million receipes for them. And just think, you're in crappy tiger shrimp land now. Sure they get big, but they're tough and not as sweet. The west coast has more of the better tasting fish in my opinion and fewer of the best tasting shellfish. While I'm at it, SF oysters ain't got nothing, nothing I say on chesapeake bay oysters.

[ip_law-hokie]

I've always found the best wings in locations that you wouldn't expect them (dive bars, etc.). BW3s is hit or miss - they have been OK on occasion. I agree that chains serve horrible wings in general.

I like wings - when they're good wings. I can't imagine wings at a chain being remotely edible.

And I've got to think that if I had 25 people going to a function, I would make arrangements IN ADVANCE. You don't have 25 people just chilling out for two hours waiting for a table. I don't care if they're white, black, orange, or maroon - restaurants have no interest in accommodating a mass of people just hanging out.

I was at a nice place last week and there was a large mass of people congregated outside for what, based on the way everyone was dressed, looked like a pretty formal occasion. (I thought at the time it might have been a wedding rehearsal dinner, but it was Sunday, which would seem like an odd day for that ... so it could have just been a large group going there after church or something.) There were two guys dressed in very formal outfits standing blocking the entrance looking like they were bouncers. Had the people I was with not already gone inside, I might have thought that the restaurant was closed for a private function. I never did see their group get seated and I'm pretty sure that they hadn't already eaten ... so I have no idea what happened that caused them to abandon the effort, but I'm imagining if they were hanging around the entrance instead of going straight back to the room that is used for private meetings and such, it means that they didn't have it reserved.

Maybe I'm crazy (I plan EVERYTHING) but if I had a large group of people going to a restaurant, I would not attempt it without making arrangements in advance.

Why would anyone wait for 2 hours to eat wings?

Yeah...I don't get the whole wings phenomena. Over-priced scrap meat...

[HooFighter]

I've pretty much developed the attitude that everyone telling accounts of stories that I didn't witness are liars and not to believe anyone.

This. The truth is somewhere in between these two accounts. But that doesn't make for an entertaining story.

[USN_Hokie]

Why would anyone wait for 2 hours to eat wings?

Yeah...I don't get the whole wings phenomena. Over-priced scrap meat...

Agry. Garbage.

[Florida Hokie]

That's the biggie here in my opinion. If you didn't warn a restaurant that you were coming with that size of a group - and I'm guessing they didn't. You get what you deserve. Now, if they were treated as they represented, shame on the facility. But, in my experience, a lot of people simply look for reasons to get mad. One should have reasonable expectations.
[quote="awesome guy"and they didn't have the foresight to call ahead.[/quote]

[Florida Hokie]

Which ain't got nothin' on Apalachicola Oysters for the record.

While I'm at it, SF oysters ain't got nothing, nothing I say on chesapeake bay oysters.

[Hokie5150]

This is the type of behavior I expect at Chucky Cheese, but not BW3s! Seriously though, the second account sounds more plausible...

It's exactly the kind of behavior I'd expect at BWs...

[awesome guy]

I've pretty much developed the attitude that everyone telling accounts of stories that I didn't witness are liars and not to believe anyone.

This. The truth is somewhere in between these two accounts. But that doesn't make for an entertaining story.

what's "in between"? The group says racism caused them to kicked out. The crew says they were rude and obnoxious. How do you weld those two stories into an average?

[Hokie CPA]

I've always found the best wings in locations that you wouldn't expect them (dive bars, etc.). BW3s is hit or miss - they have been OK on occasion. I agree that chains serve horrible wings in general.

I like wings - when they're good wings. I can't imagine wings at a chain being remotely edible.

And I've got to think that if I had 25 people going to a function, I would make arrangements IN ADVANCE. You don't have 25 people just chilling out for two hours waiting for a table. I don't care if they're white, black, orange, or maroon - restaurants have no interest in accommodating a mass of people just hanging out.

I was at a nice place last week and there was a large mass of people congregated outside for what, based on the way everyone was dressed, looked like a pretty formal occasion. (I thought at the time it might have been a wedding rehearsal dinner, but it was Sunday, which would seem like an odd day for that ... so it could have just been a large group going there after church or something.) There were two guys dressed in very formal outfits standing blocking the entrance looking like they were bouncers. Had the people I was with not already gone inside, I might have thought that the restaurant was closed for a private function. I never did see their group get seated and I'm pretty sure that they hadn't already eaten ... so I have no idea what happened that caused them to abandon the effort, but I'm imagining if they were hanging around the entrance instead of going straight back to the room that is used for private meetings and such, it means that they didn't have it reserved.

Maybe I'm crazy (I plan EVERYTHING) but if I had a large group of people going to a restaurant, I would not attempt it without making arrangements in advance.

Why would anyone wait for 2 hours to eat wings?

Yeah...I don't get the whole wings phenomena. Over-priced scrap meat...

Jake's Smokehouse Bar-b-que in Virginia Beach has some of the meatiest wings I've ever had. They're "hot" wing isn't really hot, but they do offer a hot wing challenge: 12 of their meaty wings in 6 minutes. That's a challenge in and of itself, but they also get you to roll two six-sided dice and they mince up up 2 to 12 habañeros into the sauce making it potentially excruciating. LOL

http://www.jakessmokehousebbq.com/

[awesome guy]

Which ain't got nothin' on Apalachicola Oysters for the record.

While I'm at it, SF oysters ain't got nothing, nothing I say on chesapeake bay oysters.

mmmm. I want to argue this, but you would have more information. Unless you've been out of Chesapeake Bay oysters for so long that you've forgotten how awesome they are.

I'll add this too, this is one of many reasons why I love VA. Not just for the foods I listed, but the diversity of it. We get a lot of the seafood from the north during the winter (strpped bass, oysters, tautog, etc) and the best from the south during the summer (cobia, redfish, tilefish, shrimp, etc). So we're not a one trick pony and won't have shrimp 4 nights out of the week because it's only in season during the summer. In the winter, we switch to oysters. It's hard to get bored living off the sea here. And then in the spring and fall, blowfish. They should be biting any time now and I want to fill a 120 qt. cooler of them. Mmmm chicken of the sea. Now I'm hungry.

[Once]

Meh... I peeled and/or deheaded a 100 pounds at a time. Often. The family my dad worked for also had a shrimp factory and he was always bringing home coolers full. We always had at least 50 pounds in the freezer along with half a cow bought at one time (at least no one tried to make me butcher anything - that would have been an unholy mess). As a little kid, I probably smelled like the hull of a boat more often than I should have. No one ever made me mow a lawn though chores were gender specific in my parents' house.

Yep. Exactly. I am suspicious of everyone if I don't know their motives..

I wouldn't wait 30 minutes for wings. Too much work for stringy meat... I also feel that way about shrimp though, but that has to do with the fact that it was on the table 4 nights a week growing up (like people from Maine with lobster). I've peeled and deheaded thousands of pounds of shrimp and I'm kinda over it. Not worth it to me.

I've pretty much developed the attitude that everyone telling accounts of stories that I didn't witness are liars and not to believe anyone.

I can't imagine getting to that point with shrimp. I empathize with you and your plight of "eating cake" everyday, but that's some good cake! And not just any shrimp, gulf shrimp, the best. I'm not sure if it's the oil residue, the moderate climate or what, but that is the best shrimp on the planet. Hearing your story is like a Texan tiring of steak, a North Cackalackian tiring of hogs, a Delawarean tiring of chicken. It just makes my head explode! I think Forest Gump had it right with his affection for shrimp and the million receipes for them. And just think, you're in crappy tiger shrimp land now. Sure they get big, but they're tough and not as sweet. The west coast has more of the better tasting fish in my opinion and fewer of the best tasting shellfish. While I'm at it, SF oysters ain't got nothing, nothing I say on chesapeake bay oysters.

[Hokie5150]

Meh... I peeled and/or deheaded a 100 pounds at a time. Often. The family my dad worked for also had a shrimp factory and he was always bringing home coolers full. We always had at least 50 pounds in the freezer along with half a cow bought at one time (at least no one tried to make me butcher anything - that would have been an unholy mess). As a little kid, I probably smelled like the hull of a boat more often than I should have. No one ever made me mow a lawn though chores were gender specific in my parents' house.

Nice...

[Major Kong]

Meh... I peeled and/or deheaded a 100 pounds at a time. Often. The family my dad worked for also had a shrimp factory and he was always bringing home coolers full. We always had at least 50 pounds in the freezer along with half a cow bought at one time (at least no one tried to make me butcher anything - that would have been an unholy mess). As a little kid, I probably smelled like the hull of a boat more often than I should have. No one ever made me mow a lawn though chores were gender specific in my parents' house.

Bubbette Gump is that you?

I've never ate at a BW3...there is only one place I'd wait for 2 hrs before being seated to eat and that would be at my Mom's house when she is whipping up pinto beans, cornbread, mac-cheese and 'maters, snap beans and fried chicken.