Denny’s Manager Accused of Racial Bias

Denny’s restaurants suspended the manager of an outlet in Miami on Wednesday after a group of six black and three white prison officers said he refused to serve them and told them: “You guys don’t look right together.”

The restaurant chain said the manager will be fired if an independent investigation finds him guilty of racial discrimination.

The officers from the Everglades Correctional Institution complained to Denny’s and to the Office of the Civil Rights Monitor, which reports to the Justice Department.

They said they were twice turned away from the restaurant in a Latino neighborhood of Miami.

Denny’s, owned by the Spartanburg, S.C.-based Flagstar Cos., has had similar problems in the past.

It was hit with a lawsuit four years ago and paid $46 million to black patrons who complained of discrimination. The suit was launched after six black Secret Service agents guarding President Clinton were unable to get breakfast in a Denny’s in Maryland while their white colleagues were served.

A civil rights monitor that has been assigned to the company since settlement of the case is investigating the Florida complaint.

The manager told the officers on one visit that the oven was not working, officer Clifford Fortner told the Miami Herald.

They stopped a second time after work on Jan. 2 but, as they were about to be seated, the manager claimed the restaurant had run out of food, Fortner said.

“I said, ‘Wait a minute now’--the place was packed and we could see the chef cooking,” Fortner said.

He quoted the manager as saying: “You guy’s don’t look right together,” and, “I want you to leave before I call the cops.”

Meanwhile, white couples were being served, Fortner said.

The officers said they ate frequently at the restaurant when it was under different managers.

“I’m from Alabama, and nothing like this has ever happened to me,” Officer Vickie Kendrick told the newspaper. “I couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want anything to do with us.”

“I thought I was going back in time,” said Sgt. Frank Tulino.

Denny’s spokeswoman Debbie Atkins said the manager would be fired if found guilty.

“No one in our industry is doing more to address diversity issues than Denny’s,” Atkins said. “We have come a long way in the area of diversity. We have zero tolerance for discrimination of any type in our company.”

Atkins said the manager, whom she wouldn’t identify, had been suspended with pay over the incident, pending the outcome of the investigation.

As part of its previous agreement with the Justice Department, the restaurant chain also agreed to retrain employees and feature minorities in its ads. Of 168 Denny’s restaurants, 32 franchise owners are black, compared to only one in 1993, Atkins said.