I thought this story was done. I figured that the use of an arguably anti-Semitic slur on a diner's ticket and the boorish behavior of the manager who ejected the diner for complaining was over, given that the employee was gone and the restaurant had issued a half-hearted apology. I figured that the New Jersey Attorney General would investigate and say tha this was a one-time incident, and the case would be closed.

Maybe not. It seems that abusive comments by staff have appeared before on the restaurant's checks, and the insulted patrons have been brushed off.

A second customer has come forward accusing Parkhill's Waterfront Grill of writing an insulting label on her check.

Joanne Fordyce ate at the restaurant July 15, 2004, but the 34-year-old human resources director didn't immediately notice that she had been dubbed "Dirty Joanne" at the bottom of her bill.

She discovered the receipt a month later while switching pocketbooks. When she went to the restaurant for an explanation, general manager Malia Wells referred her to then-owner John Parkhill, who said he didn't know anything about the bill and walked away, Fordyce recalled Friday.

Fordyce contacted the state Division of Civil Rights after reading newspaper accounts this week about the experience of Elliot Stein, 23, of New York.

I'd doubt the story -- except for the fact she still has the check with the insult on it. You can't make up something like that.

The response of the restaurant is also consistent with the action towards the patrons labelled as "Jew Couple" on their check.

Restaurant spokesman Stephen Reid, who had previously called Stein's experience an isolated incident, was at a loss to explain Fordyce's bill. He said the bartender responsible for the "Dirty Joanne" notation was no longer working there but had not been fired.

"I don't know how that happened, or why it was there. It was wrong. These are two wrong circumstances that should never have happened. We hope, now that we changed our procedure, that it won't happen in the future."

He labeled Fordyce a problem customer, saying she had a "checkered past" at the restaurant and has since been banned.

"She's been asked to leave a couple times. She's rude, picking fights with the customers and patrons," he said.

Fordyce denied that, saying the restaurant was grasping at straws because of all the bad publicity.

I don't know whether Fordyce has such a "checkered past" or not. Since the diner in the other case was ejected for making a fuss, it could be that the restaurant's philosophy is "the customer is always wrong."

Now in their defense, the restaurant has gone to a table numbering system and has a message on their answering machine commenting on the situation.

"In response to recent news reports, we at Parkhill's deeply regret and apologize for recent actions of a former employee who carelessly used poor judgment in identifying a patron's religion or race on a bar tab. These actions do not reflect the beliefs and values of our staff. Parkhill's prides itself in treating all of our customers like family."

Maybe they are finally taking the situation seriously.

What I will say is this -- I don't agree with Fordyce's call for the state to shut the restaurant down.

That's for the public to do, if they find the restaurant to have engaged in egregious conduct.

It's called a free market.

NOTE: Some customers of the restaurant have rallied to its defense, commenting on an earlier post. They seem to think the food and people are great. I just wonder how the one fellow, whose surname is obviously Italian, would have reacted to a check reading "Wop Couple" or "Dago Family"?

Posted by: Greg at 11:53 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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