Naperville leaders are responding to an alleged discriminatory incident last week at a Naperville Buffalo Wild Wings location.
The Incident
A group of 18 mostly African-American customers were seated at the restaurant located at 2555 W. 75th Street, but say they were asked to move because of their ethnicity.
One of the party made a Facebook post saying her husband was asked, “What race are you guys?” by the host because of one of the restaurant’s regulars “doesn’t want black people sitting near him.”
After multiple managers approached the group and told them they needed to move tables, the group decided to go to a different restaurant.
Naperville Leaders React
Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico shared his thoughts when he first found out about the incident.
“Disappointment that this kind of thing still happens, this type of nonsense is still out there. It’s just disappointing. I think it saddens me because the children were involved in this particular incident, because [that] has a longer term impact,” said Chirico.
Councilman Dr. Benny White, the only black member of Naperville City Council, has been leading community discussions on diversity and race with a group called Naperville Neighbors United.
He said the fact that there were children involved made the incident even more disheartening.
“This family with their kids are going out trying to celebrate, and this is what they have to experience and I’m imagining these parents having to tell their kids what happened,” said White. “That’s just sad that they’re having to experience that and go through that, especially in 2019.”
Buffalo Wild Wings’ Response
Buffalo Wild Wings announced yesterday that the employees involved in the incident have been fired and released a statement which read:
“We take this incident very seriously and after conducting a thorough, internal investigation have terminated the employees involved. Buffalo Wild Wings values an inclusive environment and has zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind.”
An Ongoing Conversation
Councilman White said he plans to address the issue at the city council meeting on November 5 and at the next Naperville Neighbors United meeting on November 20.
“We’re just not going to tolerate it,” said White. “We’re going to call it out. I appreciate our community for calling it out.”
Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.
