In the press, and more: A Richmond Heights restaurant waitress said she was ‘overwhelmed’ with a crowd of black patrons; after the police escorted the group out the restaurant apologized.
Richmond Heights Police explained on Facebook an incident that took place on Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Blue Sky Grill, when a waitress there said she felt overwhelmed while serving a large group of black patrons, and the police was called.
On Saturday evening, at about 8:20pm, Richmond Heights officers were dispatched to the Blue Sky Grill for a possible disturbance involving approximately 30 people. Due to the type of call, and the reported number of people involved, eight Richmond Heights officer responded.
Shortly after arriving officers found that there was no disturbance and that no crime had been committed. They found that there was a disagreement between a group of customers and the restaurant regarding the way they were being billed. Four officers went back into service after about 10 to 15 minutes and an eventual agreement was reached between the group and the restaurant.
Four officers remained at the restaurant and in the building because there appeared to be tension between the group and the restaurant staff. They remained to help bring calm to the situation.
It is important to note that the response of eight officers to this call is typical and based on the type of call and the number of people involved. Additionally, the police took no action except to be calm to a situation the developed between the restaurant and it’s customers.
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A friend of mine in the restaurant business said that the customers got upset when a 20% gratuity was to be added..
They should know that is prett standard for a large party even just 10. The story is confusing because it says the waitress left and never came back but they apparently got their food since they were all paying. They certainly should have had more than one waitress for 30 people.
My family called the Maplewood S n’ S the ‘Dirty’ Steak n Shake and we call the Watson Rd S n’ S, the ‘Clean’ Steak n Shake. We have been doing that for the last 20 years:
are you KIDDN’??????? That waitress and the MANAGER need to be FIRED. What less than threat of lethal force or dangerous bizzare behavior would trigger this??? AND WHERE WAS THE SUPPORT FROM THE CUSTOMERS ALREADY THERE TO SUPPORT AND POINT OUT THIS EGREGIOUS (and surely obvious) situation and defend THE NEW COMERS? Will never go to SnS again. for any reason. (REALLY, where were other citizens when this situation was arising? )
For clarity, the restaurant involved in calling police when a waitress felt ‘overwhelmed’ was Blue Sky Tower Grill, in Richmond Heights, not “SnS” as the above comment states.
Wow! I thought I had a bad experience at the Blue Sky Tower Grill for a friend’s birthday party! Nope! It can actually get worse. Who would have thought?! Needless to say I haven’t been back since.
what does overwhelmed mean? Overwhelmed in that it was one waitress waiting on 30 people? Overwhelmed that it was too busy a night that night to have another 30 people there? If that is the reason the the management is to blame. I know the owners were out of town but whoever is in charge when they are gone should have know that they needed more staff to handle a large party. There was a reservation made that was for 30 people. If that is the reason she is overwhelmed? If she was overwhelmed the shouldn’t have the kitchen staff been overwhelmed also?
If it is 30 people of a different race that overwhelmed them then it is a racist issue and should not be tolerated. I have been in large groups that go to resturants and sometimes folks are not happy that 30 meals don’t all come out at the same time so they can all eat at exactly the same time. That their drinks are not all kept filled as soon as they begin to get empty. In those cases, I always plead for patience and to make sure we tip well for the job the wait staff is giving us.