CAmanda I.
Yelp
I chose this restaurant because of its great location and outdoor seating, but unfortunately, I won't be returning. Yesterday, a friend and I visited, we were seated promptly, and attended to by a seemingly friendly waiter. When we ordered drinks, he requested our IDs, which we showed him without hesitation. He looked at my Canadian driver's license and mistakenly asked if it was from Washington State. I corrected him, saying, "It's from Canada." He told me that they don't accept international IDs, only U.S. government-issued IDs or passports. Then asked if I had my passport with me, I replied that I didn't, as this had never been an issue in Pittsburgh before. He continued, questioning if a passport was needed to cross the border. I said yes, but explained I don't carry it around.
The waiter said the restaurant is on the Pitt campus, there are a lot of fakes and PA law mandates they only accept international passports. My friend, trying to help, mentioned that we were doctors and offered to prove it via a website, but the waiter remained firm. It's hard to believe that I was the first Canadian to the grace this establishment. So, I politely asked to speak with the manager. The manager reiterated the waiter's stance, citing PA law, stating they needed to be careful because "of the diversity and ethnicity that CMU brings", but offered to make an exception for me. I couldn't help but feel like a white Canadian would not have had this experience. And that the explanation of diverse students would not have been to someone who didn't look like me. She reexamined my driver's license, & decided it was valid by her standards.
When the waiter came back to take my drink order, my friend and I researched the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board's identification policies and found Canadian driver's licenses are in fact acceptable. When the waiter returned with my drink, I asked to speak to the manager again to show her the law, hoping to prevent future misunderstandings. About 20 minutes later, the waiter returned, informing me that the manager had left for the night (it was 7:30 pm). I asked if I could show him the information, but he rudely interrupted me, saying, "Can I look at it later? I'm really busy." He never returned to check the information.
Towards the end of our evening, another staff member approached, asking if everything was alright, mentioning he had heard about the ID issue. He then revealed that the manager had indeed checked and found that Canadian licenses are acceptable.
Despite learning this, no one from the staff apologized for initially refusing to serve me or for making me feel at fault. The entire experience was unsettling. I can't help but perceive this as an act of racism. I sincerely hope that international students and visitors at CMU and Pitt do not encounter such discrimination.