A Black family on vacation in Texas was refused service at a restaurant even though one male member changed his clothing after being told tank tops weren't allowed.
TikTok user @datmakeupartist films her brother as he changes out of his white tank top and puts on their mom's black t-shirt. She says the Ravenna Italian Grille & Bar in Dallas refused to serve them because of their clothing. "Our restaurant just said we can't get in because my brother got on a muscle shirt," she says.
'Tank Tops Are Okay for Girls, But Not Boys'
"They said tank tops are OK for girls, but not boys," she adds. The brother starts walking towards the restaurant's entrance still shirtless as the rest of the family urges him to put on the t-shirt.
"Put the shirt on bro" the TikToker is heard saying. After he puts it on, the family makes their way to the doorway. "Now watch us get our reservation now," the sister says before they are denied entry into the restaurant.
The apparent manager of the restaurant stands at the doorway as the family tries to explain to him that they're following the rules.
"That's not why we are not inside," the TikToker says. What the manager is saying is inaudible, but he is shaking his head "no" and asking them to leave. He then walks way and is filmed flicking the family off with his middle finger. "They're racist," the TikTok user says as they walk away from the establishment, urging her followers to call the restaurant.
The video instantly went viral with more than 283,000 views as of publishing and hundreds of comments from users accusing the restaurant of racial discrimination.
"I've been following this vacation, and what I truly see is people being intimidated by a large group of Black people," one user commented. "It's bulls*it." Meanwhile, other users commented saying
"I checked the website and it doesn't say anything about a dress code – they can't just pick n choose," commented another
Ravenna Gets Review-Bombed on Yelp
After the video went viral, the restaurant received a barrage of negative reviews on Yelp, bringing down its rating to 3 stars on the website.
"What a terrible restaurant. Food was bad and the services was worse. The manager was a bully and was racist towards other customers. I saw him stop a black family from entering even though they had a reservation saying that men couldn't wear tank tops--only women," wrote one user. "So they left and came back wearing t-shirts. They were still blocked from entering even though other patrons were wearing tank tops"
"Trash. The video posted showcasing the blatant racism at this establishment is both disgusting and appalling," commented another. The sudden influx of negative reviews and increased media attention forced the website to temporarily suspend review submissions on the page.
