WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. – An African American woman's complaint that she was discriminated against at J. Alexander's in West Bloomfield has been forwarded to the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office for review.
On June 20, Liah Gant, 28, was at J. Alexander's in West Bloomfield when a bartender tried to force her to get up for two white customers, according to Gant's attorneys.
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When Gant refused to give up her seat, the bartender would not serve her, and took her drink and dumped it in the sink, attorneys for Gant said.
Attorneys for Gant said she asked to speak with a manager to report the incident and to have the drink removed from her bill, and the manager refused to substract the drink charge.
Gant has hired civil rights attorneys Maurice Davis, with Davis Law Group, and Jasmine Rand, with Rand Law LLC to pursue her claims against J. Alexander's.
J. Alexander issued the following statement to Local 4:
“At J. Alexander’s Restaurants, we have a long-standing commitment to provide our guests the highest quality dining experience with outstanding food and professional service in a safe, respectful and welcoming environment. We are firmly committed to operating our restaurant in strict compliance with non-discriminatory policies. We do not tolerate inappropriate behavior from either guests or employees.
"On June 20th at our restaurant in West Bloomfield, Michigan, we experienced an unfortunate incident between guests that disrupted the otherwise pleasant dining environment. No employee of J. Alexander’s used profanity or made inappropriate racial remarks or threw food but certain guests did. J. Alexander’s does not condone such behavior and sought to diffuse the situation.
"The police were called by the restaurant to assist with the unruly behavior of the guests. Any guest who threw food was asked to leave and not return. The police are currently investigating the matter and J. Alexander’s is cooperating with the investigation.
"We regret this incident occurred and extend our apology to our guests whose experience was interrupted by the inappropriate behavior of other guests.
"We are grateful to have been a part of West Bloomfield for more than 21 years and we look forward to continuing to serve our guests with an extraordinary dining experience."