Woman alleges she was racially profiled at Texas restaurant, told black students 'don't tip'

A recent college graduate alleges that a server at a restaurant where she and her friends had gone to celebrate her new diploma racially profiled her, and they were ultimately asked to leave. However, the general manager of the establishment states that the incident had nothing to do with race.

Brittany Blakney and her friends were at Locatelli’s, an Italian restaurant in Cypress, Texas, to celebrate her recent graduation from Prairie View A&M University when the server informed them he would be adding a 15 percent gratuity to their bill. Blakney alleges they were told it was because “black students from Prairie View don’t tip.”

“It was really shocking because I had never experienced anything like that before,” Blakney told Click2Houston. After the comment was made by the server, Blakney asked to speak with the manager.

According to the graduate, the manager defended the server and asked her to leave.

“It was definitely embarrassing because she even threatened to call the police,” Blakney told the news outlet. “Nobody was belligerent. Nobody was loud ... cursing at her ... anything.” She added that everyone in the restaurant watched as the group was escorted out.

Kerrie Salazar, the general manager of the Cypress Locatelli’s, alleges that the addition of gratuity to the guest’s bill wasn’t due to race, but over a concern that the group would not tip. The addition of a 15 percent gratuity for groups of six or more is part of the restaurant’s policy, but it is not always enforced.

“It’s very frustrating for the servers because that’s the way that they make their income,” Salazar told the outlet, claiming that they only make $2.13 an hour.

Salazar also alleges that Blakney insulted her. “She graduated as an engineer, and she makes twice as much money as I do,” Salazar said.

According to Salazar, Blakney started to cuss in front of other family’s dining at the restaurant. Ultimately, the manager made the decision to ask the group to leave.

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