What was supposed to be a girl's day out took a shocking turn for a group of Latina California women, after they were asked for more than just proof of age when ordering drinks.
Diana Carrillo, her sister and two of their friends were expecting to enjoy lunch at the upscale Huntington Beach restaurant Saint Marc, where Carrillo had dined once before. What they weren't expecting, was to have their citizenship questioned. When the waiter arrived at their table, he informed them that before he could serve them, they needed to show proof of residency, saying: "I need to make sure you're from here."
At first the girls thought the waiter was joking, but it soon became clear that he wasn't.
"I looked at my sister and [my friend], and I said, did he really just say that?" Carrillo said.
The group reported the waiter to the manager, who offered to move them to another section. The women declined, instead choosing to leave the restaurant.
Later, on Facebook, Carrillo posted about her experience.
"How many others has he said this too?" she posted. "I hope this employee is reprimanded for his actions."
Carrillo urged her followers to share it with their families and friends, and share they did. Within the week the post had been shared over 600 times, grabbing the attention of the restaurant.
Saint Marc's management offered to treat the girls to a VIP night at the restaurant, and to donate 10 percent of the weekends sales to a charity of their choosing. The girls declined the meal, but took them up on the donation, requesting that the sales go to Orange County Immigrant Youth United.
The management also reported that the waiter had been fired, despite the fact that "he had never received so much as a write up" before.
“I don’t know if he had an agenda or not,” said Kent Bearden, the senior director of operations at Saint Marc. “My concern is he violated a company policy. We’re very specific about how we treat our guests. That individual did not treat a table of guests to the expectations that we set forth in that company policy, and that caused him to be terminated.”
Carrillo, the daughter of immigrant parents, was warned by her mother that she may face discrimination like this, and said she wondered if the request hd something to do with "who is president."
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