A manager at a popular Kansas City, Missouri restaurant found himself on the unemployment line after uproar over a video that purported to capture him racially profiling a Black customer who ordered a meal.
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Tomfooleries’ co-owner Shelly Bloom fired the manager, who identified himself as “Preston” in the video clip, on July 22, one day after the Black woman posted her video on social media, The Kansas City Star reported on Friday.
Bloom declined to explain the exact reason why the manager was terminated. However, it’s apparently related to his treatment of Xzaviera Vaqua when she tried to place an order at the restaurant on July 19.
“I honestly feel like I was discriminated against and racially profiled,” the 37-year-old Kansas City woman said.
On the video, which received more than 115,000 views by Sunday, the exchange is heard between Vaqua and the manager that lasted about 45 seconds. Vaqua explains to him that she has concerns about his demand that she “secure a tab” to eat in the restaurant.
“I can’t just pay for my food?” she asks.
“You can pay for it after you eat. We don’t have to use the credit card but we have to secure the tab,” he says.
“I’ll pay for my food, cash, up front. I don’t feel comfortable with nobody walking around with my card all night.”
After an increasingly heated discussion about how long Vaqua expected to stay in the restaurant, the manager asks her to leave.
“You know what, we’re done. Go ahead and go,” he says.
About 10 protesters gathered outside Tomfooleries’ on Thursday.
Rheana McRow, one of the protesters, also had a payment dispute at the restaurant. McRow, who is Black, captured part of the exchange on video, which was posted on Facebook.
Catina Taylor, another protester, called for a boycott over the treatment of Vaqua. “She just wanted something downtown. Her daughter was coming off chemotherapy,” Taylor said, according to KCTV.
Here’s Vaqua’s video clip:
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