Santa Ana : More Complaints Made Against the Red Onion

Organizations that have criticized the Red Onion restaurant in Santa Ana for allegedly barring minorities from their disco called a curbside press conference at the restaurant Friday.

Ten men claiming to have been denied entry to the Red Onion on phony excuses told of their experiences.

“I had a temporary driver’s license, and they wouldn’t accept that” as proof of being at least 21 years old, said Lester Lumanlan, a 37-year-old Irvine resident of Filipino extraction. “I was with a Caucasian girlfriend. She had a temporary license, too, but she didn’t have any trouble.”

Lumanlan said he is employed as a food facility consultant and designer. “I design places like this,” he said, gesturing to the restaurant.

Jerome Hunter, a member of the Orange County Human Relations Commission, said the press conference had been called to allow the men to publicly voice their complaints and to encourage the restaurant management to “at least come forward and make a public apology.”

The brief gathering broke up, however, without any reaction from restaurant management, employees or customers.

Last month, The Times reported that the Department of Fair Employment and Housing was investigating allegations by six men that they were stopped at the door of the Santa Ana disco. Dozens of other complaints subsequently were lodged against the chain, including some from former and current employees who said their bosses told them to “clean up the crowd” when it became “too dark.”

Officials of the restaurant chain, responding to allegations that they have consistently barred some minorities, met this week with state investigators and pledged to “cooperate fully to resolve the problem.”