Black patrons and quite possibly only blacks present at restaurant at the time.
I made reservations for outdoor seating at what is dubbed to be one of thee "it" restaurants in Naples, 5 days in advance. I was super-excited! Sadly, when I arrived there with...my guest, that excitement quickly gave way to frustration and mild anger.
We were disrespected by the host, the seating personnel, and someone whom I later discovered was a bartender, before we were even seated. My attempts at pointing out that reservations were made was met with a dismissive, indifferent and non-chalant attitude and I was advised I would need to wait or choose to be seated inside. At the same token, a warm attitude and pleasantries were being exchanged with customers who came in after us. These individuals had also made reservations and every attempt was being made to get them seated.
As tempting as it was to acquiesce and exit the establishment, I stood my ground. Thoughts of whether I would be perceived as the "angry black woman" as I expressed my concerns, raced across my mind.
I mustered up enough diplomacy and directness and told the staff that it was not my business that they had failed to make the correct booking entry and that "No" we would not be seated inside the building, neither would we delay dinner because of their lack of integrity.
Luckily the manager came back (though he offered no kind words or an apology) and promptly instructed staff to have us seated.
The young woman walked us to our table and literally threw our menus on the table and walked away without a word. My guest was upset. He expressed feeling racially profiled.
I told him very astutely, "I BELONG here. We BELONG here. The Earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof!"
Happy that the servers were impeccable in the quality of service delivered and the food was tasty!More
