Metairie Steakhouse Desi Vega’s Admits Employees Racially Profiled Black Couple | Eater New Orleans

"I read that at Desi Vega’s Seafood and Prime Steaks in Metairie employees improperly added a 20 percent gratuity to a Black couple’s bill for a party of two and then falsely claimed it was restaurant policy; the couple’s Facebook post about the incident went viral (shared about 3,000 times). According to the post, the waiter and the manager quickly “conspired” to cover the added gratuity until the diner confirmed a nearby white couple had not been charged the automatic tip; when confronted the manager reportedly admitted lying, said he and the server had “prejudged” the couple, and said he was “embarrassed and humiliated.” Owner Desi Vega apologized, said the responsible employees have been suspended, and agreed to implement the couple’s requested changes including implicit-bias and sensitivity training, clear publicly posted communication of the actual gratuity policy, and partnering with and supporting Café Reconcile (including donations)." - Clair Lorell