Cracker Barrel May Face Another Lawsuit (Chris Rock's Mom)

[RamboLiberal]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2577627

Civil Rights activist Al Sharpton and Rose Rock, the mother of comedian Chris Rock, will announce Wednesday their intention to file a lawsuit against the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain for refusing to serve black customers.

The action stems from a May 2006 incident at a Murrells Inlet, S.C., Cracker Barrel restaurant. Rock said "she and her daughter were refused service," Rachel Noerdlinger, a spokesperson for Sharpton, told ABC News. Complaints to the restaurant management and to the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission were not acted on, Noerdlinger said.

Rock, Sharpton and members of Sharpton's National Action Network plan to announce their plan to sue in front of the Murrells Inlet Cracker Barrel where Rock alleges the incident took place

Calls and e-mails to the Lebanon, Tenn.-based chain seeking comment were not immediately returned.

Cracker Barrel, owned by the CBRL Group, has already settled a 2004 discrimination lawsuit with the U.S. Justice Department.

[Gato Moteado]

1. why do you think thy call it "cracker" barrel?

nt

[devilgrrl]

3. You got that right!

They weren't kidding when they named that restaurant.

[Lurking Dem]

4. LOL

:applause:

[Cha]

11. I never thought of that Before!

They refused the wrong Black people service this time!

[Name removed]

44. Deleted message

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[PunkPop]

45. How do you know what happened?

[Name removed]

46. Deleted message

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[PunkPop]

48. Oh, well gee, that's good enough for me.

:eyes:

[Name removed]

50. Deleted message

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[JetCityLiberal]

51. Just like you 'guarantee'

that your boy b*sh found WMD's in Iraq?
I just read your posts on the Jonah Goldberg thread....
Welcome to DU....

[Name removed]

52. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

55. Come on, you haven't even begun to cover all the bullshit

So far, we have only "Iraq war = good" and racism denial. What don't you talk a little about minimum wage of healthcare?

I'll even start topics on these so you can shower us with your wisdom. Waitasec.

[Kingofalldems]

56. When will you be signing up?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

57. Damn, too late. -nt

[maddezmom]

58. :D

:hi:

[Quantess]

53. pppffft

Or how says the UN thought the Iraq invasion sounded like a good idea?:spray:

[Critters2]

62. In a frenzied fit of unbridled curiosity

Critters goes searching for the "Jonah Goldberg" thread....

:popcorn:

[yurbud]

2. Is it just me or does a restaurant called "craker barrel" sound like

"Hillbilly Hut" or "Ku Klux Kafe"?

I went to one once. It was weird--like visiting Sam Drucker's store in Petticoat Junction and Green Acres.

[pstokely]

16. It's probably intended to be that way

The same "country" store at every exit

[Syrinx]

21. there used to be a chain around here called "Po' Folks"

I seem to recall that the food was pretty good, but not great.

Anyway, I was down in Florida on a little vacation once, and we stopped at a restaurant. The inside of the place looked remarkably like the chain I mentioned. When I stepped inside, I exclaimed "Looks like Po' Folks." I got some nasty looks from our fellow diners. I think they misinterpreted my comments. :)

[elehhhhna]

23. There'sa place in AZ called "The Chuck Box"

roflmao

[Name removed]

5. Deleted sub-thread

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[durrrty libby]

6. As cynical as I've become, it still astounds me that

people are refused service because of their skin color

How is that possible in 2006?

Our society sucks!

:freak: :argh: :hurts: :grr:

[Cha]

14. Issues!

They got Issues that need to have an Intervention. You don't franchise a chain restaurant and refuse service to anyone without a damn good reason.

[noonwitch]

7. I have never eaten at Cracker Barrell and never will

When they opened their first restaurant in the Detroit area (in Belleville), they had a policy of firing employees if management found out they were gay. At the same exit, there is an Applebee's, McDonald's, Taco Bell, and a really good greek family restaurant, so who needs Cracker Barrell?

I know people with little kids like to take them to CB, but Applebee's is pretty cool with the kids. I took my nieces to one a couple of weeks ago-nobody batted an eye when the 4 year old took off running through the place, and no one batted an eye when I picked her up, put her over my shoulder and put her back in her seat (gently but firmly). The waitress gave them crayons and their kid's menu is a coloring book.

[MountainLaurel]

13. Same here

After I heard the story of a friend being told by the "hostess" that "we don't serve n*****s here" when her predominately African-American college dance troupe stopped there, I get nauseaous even thinking about it.

[susanna]

19. I will say one thing for CB...

they have a pretty good restaurant knock-off of grandma's biscuits and gravy. (Though still too salty, IMHO.)

I do know the Belleville CB, and if that has been or is their policy (firing gay people), then I'll never eat there again, straight up.

I knew they were Americana-oriented and generally conservative, but refusing service to black folks? Well, as of now, they're off my list.

[noonwitch]

43. I was talking about Belleville, Michigan

so it could have been an individual manager.

[HughBeaumont]

8. It was once said that "Cracker Barrel" . . .

. . . was the only restaurant that had a name which perfectly described it's customer base.

Saw the PBS special on these homophobic bastards. Such a waste of a good nostalgic gift shop. I used to buy Sky Bars and old toys there.

[idgiehkt]

41. that's hysterical

I'll remember that henceforth. Thanks a million. :hi:

[Catherine Vincent]

9. The cracker barrel near me service black people.

A lot of their waitstaff and greeters are black.

[Duppers]

36. same here

At least a third of the clientele and waitstaff are black at our local one.

They serve southern food that won't flatten the wallet and it's not too bad.

:shrug:

[MidwestTransplant]

10. As much as I like the fried chicken I stopped going there a few years back

Now they mess with Chris Rock's mom. WTF!

[chaska]

12. I know this town. I'm from SC....

It's a wealthy area near Myrtle Beach. For what it's worth. Draw your own conclusions, I have none.

[allisonthegreat]

17. On Oprah today they went to the Cracker Barrel

I thought that was interesting. She took her whole crew and everyone in.

[wholetruth00]

18. Why even spend money there. Boycott instead.

There a lots of African American churches who use Cracker Barrel as a rest stop on bus excursions. i hope they stop.

[Zomby Woof]

15. I was at two of them in NC last week

And both times, black patrons were served without any incident. Incidents like the one in the OP are localized, to be sure.

They even prominently display their anti-discrimination creed in the entrance, so I am sure there will be a settlement pending.

This shit goes on all the time, everywhere, unfortunately. They still have a better track record than Denny's, and far better food than them too. I refuse to get all worked up and frothing over this.

[LynneSin]

22. But Zomby, where were you when you went to those CBs?

I mean, if they were somewhere in the California area then I'm not suprised at what you experienced. However it's a way different world in the Southeast part of our country. This does not shock me at all!

[lildreamer316]

24. NC=North Carolina, I believe.

I could be wrong though.

[ChoralScholar]

33. I lived in Russellville, AR, and Conway, AR

both of which have Cracker Barrel restaurants, and I have never seen any problem with black people being served. I'm very disappointed by what I have read here today.

[muryan]

20. Doesn't surprise me one bit

On a family vacation we stopped at a CB in North Carolina and we were seated before a black family that had been there long before we showed up. My parents grabbed me and my brother and walked out, havent been back since.

[lildreamer316]

25. Really?

Do you mind telling me wherabouts in NC? I want to know to make sure to tell friends & family to avoid it.

[muryan]

26. The only thing i can tell you for sure

is that it was around the raleigh region, probably a suburb. It was about 5-6 years ago and that was only time in the area but i do remember that much.

[alcibiades_mystery]

27. As Chris Rock might say

Crack-ah ass muthafuckin' crack-ah!

[L A Woman]

28. as much as I hate CB, this story is a bit fishy....

in every other article I have read about it, she says it took them THIRTY minutes to serve her. When she complained, they offered her a free meal.

Geez, maybe I should sue every time it takes thirty minutes to serve me! (happens a lot!) I am gay, after all!

Sometimes I think we assume we are being discriminated against, when in reality it could be plain incompetence.

[northzax]

37. I hear you

Rock tells the AP, "He never called over the waitress and asked, 'Why did these people sit here for an hour without service?' The only thing he said was we could have a free meal and neither of us wanted to eat."


http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7005217911 (the first link if you search google news for 'cracker barrell)

um, every time I have complained to the manager in a restaurant, he/she has dealt with staff issues behind closed doors. I don't care what the server's excuse is, I just don't want it to happen again. in this case, it looks like the manager was dealing with it, appropriately, but it wasn't enough of a pound of flesh for the server. this is a non-issue. If the manager had done something differently (and this is Mrs. Rock's own words we're talking about) then maybe there is discrimination, but who knows? and even if this was the case, the store was handling it, and offered immediate compensation. it certainly doesn't seem a good reason to boycott an entire chain.

[RamboLiberal]

39. I usually eat alone and am familiar with crappy service

in all kinds of restaurants like a small table in a crappy location when restaurant is half empty and will not be getting busy to slow service. Lone diners get discriminated against too though I think that has been improving.

I've learned to speak up on the seating issue, and if not waited on in a reasonable amount of time to speak up or even go find the first available employee. And I will complain if food is cold or lukewarm.

I will say that at least in the past few years I've found service in most cases in restaurants in my area has improved tremendously and few times I've had a minor problem managers have handled well. Heck I've been comped even when I didn't complain but service was a bit slow or a minor mistake was made.

I think sometimes people too quickly assume discrimination when it's just lousy service.

[greccogirl]

63. Why am I not surprised?

I doubted that anyone "refused" service. Can I file suit the next time I have to wait 30 minutes? I guess no one has ever gone to Cracker Barrel on Sunday morning then...................

[goforit]

29. They lost my business a long time ago just for their heavy grease.

Racism definitely places a nail in their couffin across the country.

[Stuckinthebush]

30. A little off subject, but Cracker Barrel is a vegetarian's nightmare!

My in-laws love CB. They plan all of their trips around CB dinning. We were with them one trip, and of course, they had to go to CB. My oldest daughter and I are vegetarians, and my wife is vegan. You'd think that at least vegetarians could get a veggie plate there, right?

When we asked about the meat content of the vegetables, the waitress informed us that ALL of their vegetables have some form of meat in them. Even the freaking corn on the cob was cooked in water with ham. Jesus H. Christ on a pig farm! We couldn't stop laughing. My in-laws were not happy with us, but honestly, the absurdity of it all just made us crack up.

So we had a salad and begged them to keep the bacon bits off. They put them in a cup on the side in case we changed our tree-hugging, bunny-kissing, vegetarian minds!

[peacebuzzard]

32. The corn does not have ham in it. The green beans do, as well as

the turnip greens, pinto beans, and all of the soups are laced with meat or ham. I am a veggie, nearer to vegan and there are some things you can eat at the Crack House.

corn
carrots (has sugar)
mashed potatoes (has butter and milk. no go for vegans)
tossed salads (with olive oil and vinegar for the vegans)
Baked Potatoes there are awesome (can add the Italian olive oil they carry)
okra (but that is fried in the same vat that does the chicken and fish)
cole slaw
mac n cheese (never tried it, as I don't do cheese---but everyone loves it)
on Fridays the veggie of the day is brown rice with mushrooms.

The biscuits and cornbread are made on the premises but have the regular milk/eggs of bread.
The signature Crack House sourdough bread is actually vegan (no milk, eggs) and is interesting when you ask for it "grilled" (but again, the skillet is used for meats.)

they have an awesome aray for the sweet tooth---all fruit cobblers are made on premises
fried apples are delish

I know this place well as you can see.

[Stuckinthebush]

42. Indeed you do!!

:D

Well, evidently the waitress we had was not happy with the vegetarian/vegan thing. She said the potatoes even had bits of meat in them.

The Okra is a no go since it is fried in lard. The Mac and Cheese would be ok for me, but not my wife (dairy). Baked potatoes are a good option.

We will give it another try sometime and see...perhaps we had a waitress with an attitude! It was very funny when she said everything had some form of meat in it. IT was hard not to laugh!

[peacebuzzard]

65. Let's just say, unfortunately I spend too much time away from home......

and I really do not like to eat out, just no options sometimes.....

[Critters2]

47. My dad likes Cracker Barrel

and I'm vegetarian. When I go with him, I have the veggie plate--corn, fried apples, potatoes of some form (sometimes fries, sometimes baked), fried okra. I know the green beans, greens and baked beans have meat in 'em, so those are no-go's. But I can usually find something. I must admit, I love their fried apples.

[Stuckinthebush]

54. The apples might be ok

Do you know if they fry them in lard or vegetable oil?

[Critters2]

61. Honestly, I don't know

I didn't think anyone was still frying in lard, especially in restaurants!

[Stuckinthebush]

64. Never know....

Lard makes "country cookin'" taste like country cooking.

[Anakin Skywalker]

31. With a name like "Cracker Barrel", just what do you expect?

LOL! Sorry, you KNOW I had to say that. You were THINKING it too. :)

[bamacrat]

34. It is CRACKER Barrel, ha ha

[LuckyTheDog]

35. Lucky black customers

The food there is awful. I sure 'nuff wish they had turned ME away when I dropped in! Yech.

[Shakespeare]

38. Watching her on Larry King right now - what a bullshit case

Nobody refused them service at all--when they went to complain to a manager (and they never even bothered to beckon to a waitperson), he apologized and asked them to please stay and eat. That's the basis of this whole thing.

I adore Chris Rock, but his mother's suit is bullshit.

[RamboLiberal]

40. I was thinking this one might be

I think Cracker Barrel as a franchise is too aware of this issue for this to be allowed to happen. I think they've learned from their own and Denny's past issues.

Sure there they be individual idiot managers and or waitpersons.

[SemperEadem]

60. not true

this past May, I went to one with my mom and SIL in Columbia, MO. Before we were seated, my SIL went to look at some of the merchandise in the store. Mom and I went to the table and waited on SIL. When she came to the table, she had a weird look on her face. She said that she had gone to the cashier to ask her the price on an item and the woman just looked at her and wouldn't answer her question. When she asked her again, the cashier snapped at her. I immediately called the waitress over and asked for the manager and complained to him about the cashier's behavior. SIL was reluctant to say anything because she didn't want to cause a scene, but I was like "this isn't the 1920's and I'll be damned if she'll get away with that bullshit behavior." After the manager apologized profusely (but didn't offer us a free meal), we saw the cashier walking back to the office, from where she didn't return while we were there.

CB hasn't learned any lesson and the lawsuits haven't taught them squat. They still employ assholes who think they can treat paying customers any way they choose because of the color of their skin. Mom said the cashier probably didn't like the fact that we drove up in a Mercedes Benz.

[Taoschick]

49. It is bullshit

Go in there on a weekend when they're short of staff and see how long it takes to get served.

Heck, where I live, being ignored by the waitstaff is a normal occurance. This town has the worst service I've ever encountered.

[ecstatic]

67. Nobody else had to ask

Treating someone like a second class citizen solely due to race is wrong and shouldn't be tolerated.

[SemperEadem]

59. I can't wait to hear how Chris Rock incorporates this

into his standup... he's hilarious!

[ecstatic]

66. In the year 2006, this kind of blatant discrimination

deserves a lawsuit, no matter how frivolous or shitty the restaurant is. It's time to stamp out this type of racism--even if by severe financial repercussions.