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SF Supervisor accuses business of discrimination
Amber Lee reports.
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco Supervisor Shamann Walton, who is black, is accusing The Occidental Cigar Club in San Francisco's financial district of discriminating against him and his friends during a recent visit.
He said this was the third time he's patronized the business over the years, but that this is the first time he's faced racist treatment.
Walton said a female bartender was rude toward his group from the time they walked into the cigar bar.
He posted a negative review online that has garnered a lot of attention.
"There's a difference between bad service and discrimination," said Walton.
He said he's offended by how the female bartender treated him and his friends, who are also black.
The supervisor said the bartender treated white customers differently.
"She would ask them if they wanted to taste different things, give them opportunities to try things before she served them. She was real belligerent and loud with us," said Walton.
He alleged that she also repeatedly told his group that there is a $20 minimum charge per person.
He said the last straw came when she told him to move from his seat to accommodate other customers who were white.
Walton acknowledged that he used profanity when she told him to move, "I refused to do so. She took my drink, took my friend's drink, and threw us the tab," said the supervisor.
"That's not how we operate. I was shocked. I deeply regret that he was offended," said Curtis Post, the founder and managing owner of The Occidental Cigar Club.
He said the female bar tender is a co-owner of the business.
"We ask people to move all the time, especially when it gets busy. But it's never based on race, how much they spend, or their gender," said Post.
Post reached out to the supervisor, saying that he wants to talk to Walton and would like his business. "I apologize for offending him and I'm going to make sure he's not offended again," said Post.
One patron at the bar who's black said he's a regular for ten years and that he's surprised to hear about the supervisor's treatment.
"I feel at home here. I wouldn't go anywhere else, to be honest," said Marcus Carrl, a patron who was with two friends who are also black.
Walton said he's speaking out because this behavior should be not tolerated. "I didn't want anybody else to be treated like this in any establishment here in San Francisco," said Walton.
Post said he plans to have a lengthy conversation with the female bartender to get to the bottom of what happened.
He also said he'd love to meet with the supervisor one on one, have a cigar and talk about this with him.