A Texas woman is taking a stand against a hospitality company after she claims one of its restaurants racially profiled her.
Andrea Chantel posted a series of videos on TikTok over the weekend about her experience at a Dallas restaurant called “Maroma.” She and her three friends, who are all Black, went there to get drinks on Saturday.
“[We] were told we could be seated but couldn’t stay long,” she explained.
According to Chantel, when her friends went to sit down, she went to the bathroom. The restaurant has only two single-stall bathrooms: one for men and another for women.
After waiting for the women’s restroom to become available, Chantel decided to use the men’s bathroom.
“I decided to use the men’s because it was open,” she explained. Chantel then went to sit down with her friends and enjoy their drinks.
About 15 minutes later, the general manager, who identified herself as Danielle, walked over to the table.
Chantel said she was accused of smoking marijuana because of the women’s restroom. Danielle explained she saw Chantel walk out of the restroom area and made the natural assumption.
“We don’t smoke,” Chantel told the manager. She panned the camera around the table, asking each of her friends if they smoked.
Danielle also told the group that they were going to stop serving them.
“They’re telling us you can’t serve us because why?” Chantel asked.
“I’m calmly telling you I can’t serve because I can smell marijuana,” Danielle said as she and Chantel argued back and forth. Danielle then told Chantel to calm down as she reiterated that they wouldn’t be served anymore.
Eventually, Chantel’s friends agreed to leave the restaurant.
Many people online called out Danielle for racially profiling Chantel and her friends, also pointing out that she didn’t go over to any other tables.
Restaurant Responds
After Chantel posted the video of the interaction online, Maroma made a public statement, defending Danielle’s action:
“Our team made the decision to discontinue alcohol service to the guests involved after staff observed a strong odor of marijuana and had concerns regarding marijuana use in the restaurant restroom. Upon returning from the restroom, the odor was significant enough that other guests nearby asked to be moved to a different area of the restaurant because of it.
At that point, management determined that continuing to serve alcohol was not appropriate. Our team has a responsibility to make responsible decisions regarding alcohol service and to maintain a safe and comfortable environment for everyone in our restaurant.
This decision was based solely on the circumstances and behavior observed that evening. It had nothing to do with race, background, or identity, and any suggestion otherwise does not accurately represent what occurred.
We welcome everyone at Maroma and hold all of our guests to the same standards. We also expect our restaurant, our employees, and the experience of our other guests to be respected.
A short video shared online does not always provide the full context of an interaction. We felt it was important to provide that context and stand behind our team’s responsibility to protect the experience and safety of everyone at Maroma.”
Maroma is owned by Big Dill Hospitality. The same organization owns Casa Brasa, where a similar situation occurred.
Past Discrimination
Atlanta Black Star previously reported Casa Brasa told a Black woman and her group of friends they weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the facility. But when they saw other women doing it, they called out the employees for racially profiling them.
“I walked to the guy, and I was like, ‘But they can take pictures,’” one of the women, Blessida Yeboah, said. “His entire face dropped. So that’s when I pulled out my phone and began recording.”
In the days that followed, Big Dill Hospitality seemingly crashed out over a direct message with Yeboah. She showed Atlanta Black Star screenshots of the correspondence.
Yeboah said that before they reached out, they responded to one of her friends, asking to take the video down. That’s when they reached out to Yeboah, in a seeming effort to save face.
“We have simply tried to explain our perspective and correct statements that we believe do not accurately reflect what occurred from our side,” @bigdill.hospitality wrote Yeboah on Instagram. “That does not invalidate how you personally felt about the interaction. At this point, it’s clear we are not going to fully agree on the situation, and continuing to go back and forth is likely not productive for either side.”
Yeboah reacted with a laughing-with-tears emoji to the message.
“You are still not acknowledging the fact that you’ve told several people that that night you told us several times to stop flash photography, which resulted in us not being able to take pictures. I see where this is going…no problem,” she wrote back.
It’s unclear if the company has tried contacting Chantel to take her video down.
Meanwhile, Chantel said she decided to seek legal counsel against the restaurant.
She also took three drug tests, all proving to the internet and restaurant that she did not have drugs in her system.
Atlanta Black Star reached out to the restaurant and Chantel for more information but has not heard back.
