#DiningWhileBlack: Police called after couple refuses to give up table to white customer
A shocking video shows a white manager of a Plano, Texas, restaurant making a blatant attempt to kick out a Black couple after they refused to give up their seat to a white customer.
Activist Shaun King posted the unsettling video showing a restaurant manager at Sambuca 360 yelling at Johnny Wimbrey, a popular motivational speaker who has appeared on The Steve Harvey Show, as he sat with his wife to have dinner and drinks at the Plano Texas location.
What’s even more disturbing is that according to WFAA, Wimbrey and his wife were already seated, had been given menus, and were about to order when the manager strolled over and demanded that they move their seat for the white regular.
“I said, ‘No I think we want to sit here. We have a great view. It’s only a table for two.’ We declined the offer respectfully,” Wimbrey said.
—Cop accused in Diante Yarber killing once faced hate crime charges—
In the video, the manager gets increasingly angry, and the exchange escalated, with Wimbrey and his wife remaining calm while the camera rolled.
“You can pay the tab. You are leaving,” said the Sambuca manager.
“Why am I leaving?” asked Wimbrey.
“Because I don’t like you,” the manager retorts.
The manger then tries to accuse Wimbrey and his wife of trespassing to force them out.
“What did I do wrong?” Wimbrey asked again.
“I tell you to leave right now or I will call the police,” responded the manager.
“What did I do wrong?” asked Wimbrey.
“You need to leave now. What you are doing wrong is trespassing,” said the manager.
The manager did call Plano Police, but Wiimbrey and his wife decided to leave before they arrived.
“The Plano police show up. They jump out of the car and I thought what would happen if I didn’t leave?” said Wimbrey.
—Mom dragged by school bus after confrontation with driver—
Wimbrey is a well-known motivational speaker who has even held events at that restaurant location with hundreds of people.
Wimbrey said his treatment was certainly related to race.
“I do believe it’s because of who I am and how I look that they asked me to move tables,” said Wimbrey.
Sambuca issued the following statement to WFAA:
“We apologize for the miscommunication with our guest on Saturday night, which resulted from a mix-up at our host stand. Sambuca has no tolerance for discrimination and always wants to make every guest feel welcome and respected.”
King chimed in, saying that white people are using the police in a cult-like manner.
“Also, what’s clear is that all over the nation people use the police like a white power enforcement squad against Black customers. Racism is dead and gone though.”
