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16 Restaurant Employees Walk Out Over Cocktails Allegedly Named ‘The Negro’ And ‘The Caucasian’: Report

Not a photo from the restaurant in the story. (Photo by Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for Nightclub & Bar Media Group)

Brent Foster Contributor
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Sixteen employees walked out of a Pennsylvania restaurant that was allegedly planning to serve a series of cocktails with racially charged names earlier in March, according to the Gettysburg Times.

The employees worked for Mela Kitchen at Jack’s Hard Cider, where they said the Core Theatre operating at the same site was planning to serve cocktails named “The Caucasian” and “The Negro,” according to the Gettysburg Times. A total of 25 staffers left the business, the outlet reported.

“It was not an easy decision for all of us,” former front of house manager Megan Dietz told the outlet. “It was really heavy. It was very emotional. For a lot of us, it was a full-time job.” (RELATED: Wildly Popular Alcohol Brand Introduces New Beverage)

“Your team at Mela refuses to represent an establishment that is ok with this type of language,” Dietz wrote in an email to Mela Kitchen’s owner, Donald Hoffman.

Lead server Emily Kate Hessler told the outlet Hoffman said the staff would also be serving a cocktail named “the Negro,” the Times reported.

Hoffman allegedly wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post that he is not “a sexist,” “a bigot” or “a racist” and emphasized his service on charitable boards, according to the Times.

He added, “I have never been accused of what has been stated here because it is simply not true” in the deleted post, the outlet reported.

The restaurant promised “to develop a culture of understanding, empathy and tolerance to ensure that our staff feel safe and empowered,” in a Facebook post March 8, roughly one week after the alleged walkouts.

“I have come to realize how we have fallen short on addressing the sensitive issues towards others. Both inside the company and in how we present ourselves to the community,” the post continued. “I take full responsibility for the shortcomings and I apologize to the current and former employees who have experienced harm while working at Mela Kitchen.”