Hooters sued for describing Asian customers as “Chinx” on their receipt
A Hooters restaurant in Queens is being sued after an unidentified hostess described an Asian couple as “Chinx” on their food receipt.
A Korean couple is suing Hooters in Queens, New York, for racial discrimination after they were labeled "Chinx" on their receipt.
The New York Daily News said the incident occurred on July 1 when Kisuk Cha and his girlfriend placed a takeout order, totalling $21.75, for buffalo shrimp and chicken wings.
The lawsuit filed in Brooklyn Federal Court stated that Cha, 25, who was born in Korea but grew up in Pennsylvania, noticed the food server was "gawking" at them and "giggling" after looking at the computer monitor.
After paying for the food, he examined the two receipts and spotted the slur “Chinx” on both.
The lawsuit, filed against Hooters of America and the owners of the Fresh Meadows location, seeks unspecified damages for violations of "federal, state and common law rights," reports Eater.com.
It claims that Cha “is haunted by the ridiculing giggles and stares of his persecutor."
“He does not feel welcome at Hooters and indeed questions whether he is welcomed at any non-Korean establishments, " the complaint states.
A lawyer for the owners of the Hooters franchise, Edward McCabe, told the New York Daily News they were sorry for the incident, describing it as "shocking".
McCabe said employees are permitted to refer to customers by an article of clothing or hair color to help workers remember who placed an order, but never by their race.
The identity of the waitress is not known, but McCabe said she was not one of the Hooters’ employees who wear famously busom-baring uniforms.
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