Amit K.
Yelp
I had a very disappointing experience at Joe's Pasty Shop earlier today - unfortunately not a very Montana-like experience at all. My girlfriend and I walked in, and as we began approaching the counter, I heard a female employee say to her co-worker "Hey, you've got two homies just walked in..." My girlfriend is Black and I am of South Asian descent. I guess that made this individual feel we should be referred to as "homies." I considered walking out, but this is America - we have a right to eat wherever we want.
The co-worker who took our order and made our food was extremely courteous and informative - basically, he was what I've come to expect from Montanans - he was a kind-hearted, fair individual that gave us the basic dignity and respect that any human deserves.
We didn't interact with the female employee during the rest of our visit. I do wonder why she would make such an unnecessary comment about us, though - we had never crossed her path before today. And why the word "homies"? I thought about asking her these questions, but once I noticed that she was not engaging us directly with more racist comments, I decided not to say anything. After all, even though this is my 4th visit to this wonderful state (and my 2nd visit to Butte) in the past 5 years, we were visitors to Joe's. Who knows how that exchange might have turned out, and I wasn't willing to risk my and my girlfriend's safety.
It seems that the lady working at Joe's today possibly didn't intend for us to hear her comment. But we did. And it was unkind, to say the least.
I give Joe's 1 star, because this kind of treatment - racism - is completely unacceptable. It cuts at the fabric of what our society should be. I specifically sought out Joe's Pasty Shop, as I had read that they were the place to go for the Butte staple. It's too bad that my experience was soured :/ I am more than happy to have a longer conversation with the owner, if he or she would like. Either way, I hope the matter will be addressed, so that customers in the future don't have similarly unpleasant experiences.
I should also note that it would be unfair for my experience at Joe's to taint my overall opinion of Butte or my love for Montana. In fact, I simply won't allow it! Any history buff will find Butte to be a remarkable place, and I still do as well. It took me 32 years to make my way to Big Sky Country, and I will continue to enjoy it for years to come :)