Umi Sushi in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood is being called out for alleged racial discrimination by a Black couple who were escorted out of the restaurant for a dress code violation.
The couple said it was one thing if a dress code violation is all it was, but to them, it became pretty clear that the rules of the “dress code” applied to them and not to others. Kaylan Colbert said they were refused service because her husband was rocking some Nike Air Force Ones but as soon as they pointed out that a white woman at the bar was wearing Adidas, that’s when they felt they were being targeted because of their race.
Instead of celebrating a birthday, the couple got into a whole exchange with the restaurant’s staff and owner, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. The incident was captured on video by the man’s wife, Kaylan Colbert.
“I had been there multiple times. The COVID situation we had probably been about four times and spent plenty of money there in the past so this is supposed to be like a high-end restaurant,” Kaylan told Fox5.
Kaylan recorded when her husband asked the manager why a woman at the bar was served even though she, too, had on gym shoes.
“If you’re going to have rules they should apply to everyone and not just some people,” she said.
FOX 5’s spoke to the owner over the phone who maintains the dress code is posted inside the restaurant and on the website. He says he regrets the way the situation was handled.
“This was completely, 100%, an operational mistake on our end,” Umi Sushi owner Farshid Arshid said. “When they got upset we should have investigated that.”
