The State - News from Nov. 20, 1987

Six Iranian immigrants who claimed they were denied admission to a Red Onion restaurant in Santa Ana because of their ethnic background have settled their Orange County Superior Court lawsuit out of court. Terms were not disclosed. Gene Salas, vice president of Onion International Inc., which owns the restaurants, said the case “was resolved to our mutual satisfaction.” The company denied any wrongdoing. “In my heart I know we won,” said Ali Reza Mirhousseini, 23, one of the plaintiffs. “I’m confident we got our message across. Money is not all that important.” Several former Red Onion employees testified that the firm manipulated dress codes and used laws concerning under-age patrons to exclude Latinos, blacks and other minority groups.