Chili’s apologises after US veteran’s food taken away by manager on Veterans Day
One US veteran was left humiliated when the manager from Chili’s Grill & Bar in Cedar Hill, Texas, took away his free meal on Veteran’s Day. Ernest Walker’s military service credentials were refuted when an elderly white man wearing a Donald Trump shirt told the manager Walker did not really served in the military. The Tex-Mex restaurant has since apologised for the incident.
Chili’s offered a free meal to veterans and currently serving military on Veteran’s Day, which fell on Friday, Nov. 11, in the US. Instead of feeling honoured, however, one veteran was shamed by an employee of the restaurant.
In a lengthy post on Facebook, Walker, 47, described how his integrity was questioned when the restaurant’s manager believed an older Trump supporter over him. He came with his service dog on that day and ordered a burger for his free meal. He was preparing to leave, leaving a tip for the waitress who packed his food in a takeaway container, when an “old white guy, maybe in his 70s with a Trump shirt” approached him and asked him a trick question about his service unit. When he answered truthfully, the man appeared not to believe him.
“He said he was in Germany, and that they did not let Blacks serve over there. He left to the back, and came back and rubbed my dog Barack, who is a service dog,” he wrote.
“Then the Manager, MR. Wesley Patrick, comes from the same area in the back, walked up, and rudly informs me that a guest said that I was not a real soldier because I had my hat on indoors. Other guests heard him. He asked for my military ID, I was calm, and provided it to him. I also provided him with my DD214 which is my discharge paperwork.” (sic)
He expected the manager to believe him, but the manager instead questioned his dog as well, claiming the guest also said the dog, which he named Barack, was not a service dog. Barack was wearing a red service vest and certified tags. At that point on, Walker started recording his exchange his Wesley, who is seen in the video posted on Facebook snatching his takeaway food away.
Watch the video on Walker’s Facebook post.
Walker told NBC New York that he served in the army’s 25th infantry division from 1987 to 1991. He went to Chili’s in his army uniform without his name or rank on it because he did not want to be mistaken for an active-duty soldier on Veteran’s Day.
Kelli Valade, president of Chili’s Grill & Bar, has apologised for the treatment Walker had received from one of their local branches. She admitted that the local restaurant had failed to live up to expectations and let down a valued guest.
“Unfortunately, Mr Walker was not treated in a manner our veterans deserve. On a day where we served more than 200,000 free meals as a small gesture of our appreciation for our veterans and active military for their service, we fell short,” she said in a statement.
Valade added that they have personally apologised to Walker, who accepted the apology. “We took swift action and immediately removed our manger from the restaurant,” she continued. “We are now in the process of working with Mr Walker on a resolution that promotes trust and healing.”
