Photo: MR.WUTTISAK PROMCHOO / Moment / Getty Images
A South Carolina restaurant is facing backlash after the owner allegedly hurled racist remarks at a Black couple during a dispute over how their steak was cooked.
During a Facebook live stream last week, Maurice Mckoy detailed his experience at Salt & Honey Grill in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
McKoy said he and his wife were excited to dine at the "TikTok sensation," but were met with racist remarks after asking for an adjustment to her steak.
“My wife sent back the steak because it wasn’t cooked to her liking,” Mckoy explained during the live stream.
McKoy said the steak was brought back to their table with no changes made, with workers telling the couple, "that’s the way it’s supposed to be.” The man argued that the meal should be prepared the way a customer asks.
“But that wasn’t the topper, guys,” Mckoy continued.
The owner allegedly approached the couple's table, saying he had "Googled" what a medium-well steak should look like and asserted that their food was cooked correctly.
After his response didn't satisfy the customers, the owner allegedly claimed that "Black people play with his money too much."
“He told my wife and I that Black people are not welcome in his establishment, and that I can leave and I’m barred from his restaurant,” Mckoy said in the live stream.
Video of Mckoy's video went viral as social media users slammed the restaurant over the treatment of its Black customers.
In a statement shared on social media, the restaurant claimed that Mckoy and his wife sent back several items to the kitchen, and their cook and server “both valued Black team members, did their best to accommodate these requests.”
The restaurant offered to cover the couple's bill “when it became clear we could not meet their expectations,” according to the statement, and then workers informed the pair that they would no longer be able to serve them.
“At no point were any comments made about race or any group of people,” the statement reads. “Our only goal was to protect and preserve a healthy working environment for our staff and a peaceful dining experience for our customers.”
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