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Man reports racial slur and threat at restaurant
By JON WILSON, Times Staff Writer ST. PETERSBURG -- Every Saturday for months, Ron Brown has stopped at a Boston Market restaurant to buy dinner for his mother. An unexpected reception awaited him on Aug. 31, he said. Brown, the manager of a Walgreen Drug Store, said he had a contentious episode with a female employee inside the Boston Market at 3740 Fourth St. N. That led to an unpleasant encounter outside the store with a male employee who gestured rudely, uttered a racial slur and threatened to fight, he said. Brown, who is black, said he had purchased a meal and was driving out of the restaurant's parking lot when the man, who is white, raised a middle finger and yelled, "Come on back, n--r, and I'll kick your a-." Brown said he came back into the parking lot, parked and headed back into the building to talk to a manager about the episode. Before he reached the door, the white man made another racial remark, followed Brown inside the restaurant and interrupted Brown's conversation with a supervisor, Brown said. Corporate policy prohibits store employees, including managers, from talking to the media about matters that could involve litigation, said Alyson Kim, spokeswoman for the national chain's headquarters in Golden, Colo. During the company's investigation, the man denied making the gesture or threats or using offensive language, Kim said. Citing policy against releasing personal information, Kim declined to identify either employee. The woman, she said, has been fired. The man, who has worked for Boston Market for about a year, remains employed while the company investigates. "His status is undetermined until we complete all our reviews," Kim said. She said there had been no similar complaints about the employee's behavior. It is not clear whether he and the woman who was fired are friends. "Boston Market doesn't tolerate rude and inappropriate behavior by its employees," Kim said. "Our philosophy has always been that we want our customers to be happy and this description of events is inconsistent with the kind of service we want to provide our customers." Asked if employees receive sensitivity training, she said: "I believe they do." The man remains employed because of conflicting accounts of what happened outside the restaurant, Kim said. "It's a very difficult situation to sort out. Once we determine what happened, we will take appropriate action," Kim said. As he often has done for the past year and a half, Brown had stopped at the restaurant to pick up ham, sweet potatoes and macaroni and cheese for his 80-year-old mother. She was in the car, as were Brown's wife and his 11-year-old daughter. They stayed there while Brown went inside. Customers at Boston Markets go through lines cafeteria-style, ordering family-style meals, paying, then either taking away food or eating it inside the restaurant. Brown related events this way: In line ahead of him were two African-American men. There was confusion about their orders and an argument developed with the woman serving behind the counter. At issue was who had ordered what. The woman grew upset, and her mood carried over to Brown, who said she wanted to charge him for chicken instead of the ham he had requested. When Brown objected, "She got a little nasty with me," said Brown. He cited brusque talk, exaggerated facial expressions and impatient body language. An assistant manager came out of the kitchen and Brown told her what had happened, saying he would have liked better treatment. "I said, 'I'm not trying to get anybody in trouble, but she was disrespectful to me and the people in front of me.' " At that point, the woman who had been serving announced loudly that she was quitting and walked out, Brown said. After the assistant manager rang up the order, Brown went back to his car and started to drive out of the parking lot when he saw the male employee he accused of making the gesture and remarks. "The thing that really upset me was for the kid to come outside the building," said Brown, 47. "The whole incident would have died inside the store." Later on Aug. 31, and again on Monday, a Boston Market district manager called Brown to apologize and offer gift certificates for several free meals at the Fourth Street store, Brown said. But he said he doesn't feel comfortable returning to that particular outlet. "I felt insulted" by the free meal offers, he said. Brown said going back inside the restaurant to talk to a manager was a decision to seek respect. "I don't cause any problems, but I'm going to stand my ground," he said. "I'm not going to let people threaten me in any way. I respect people and I want them to give me respect." He said he did not file a police report. Such incidents, though unpleasant, usually don't rise to the level of hate crimes, police say. That usually requires a physical attack because of the victim's race, religion or sexual orientation. "A hate crime has to be an action. If I just call someone a name, that's a civil matter," said George Kajtsa, St. Petersburg Police Department spokesman. Brown was born in St. Petersburg and graduated from Dixie Hollins High School in 1973. He is a 19-year Walgreen employee, spending 16 years as a manager. He has supervised the Walgreen at 901 22nd Ave. S since it opened in March 1997, a few months after street violence rocked sections of the neighborhood. The store received considerable attention. Some neighbors thought its corporate headquarters might decide not to open in the neighborhood. Others objected to the installation of a 6-foot chain-link fence around the property. Five years later, the store continues to serve a diverse clientele. Brown said he has had to defuse potentially volatile situations involving whites offending blacks, and blacks offending whites. "I handle it the same," he said. "Everybody is a guest in my store and we try to treat everyone with respect." Boston Market has diverse crews, Kim said. The one on Fourth Street N has 16 employees, seven of whom are black, she said.
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