There are very few Atlanta bars where Dominique Wilkins has to pay for a drink, but there’s apparently a restaurant in the city that will turn him away.
via: 11 Alive
Atlanta Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins says he was turned away from a Buckhead restaurant over the color of his skin on Saturday.
It apparently happened at Le Bilboquet, a French bistro in the The Shops Buckhead Atlanta.
“In my many years in the world, I’ve eaten at some of the greatest restaurants in the world, but never have I felt prejudice or been turned away because of the color of my skin, until today,” he wrote on Twitter.
In my many years in the world, I’ve eaten at some of the greatest restaurants in the world, but never have I felt prejudice or been turned away because of the color of my skin, until today in #atlanta In @LeBilboquetAtl #turnedawaybecauseimblack pic.twitter.com/vh7zuyxH0K
— Dominique Wilkins ? (@DWilkins21) May 22, 2021
The restaurant claims he was turned away because of the way he was dressed. In a statement on Twitter late Saturday, they said their policy prohibits “athletic clothing.”
“We do our best to accommodate all of our guests. We have a “business casual” dress code which includes jeans & sneakers but prohibits athletic clothing including sweat pants & tops. The definition of “casual” is ever evolving, we strive to maintain our policy requirements daily,” the restaurant said on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/LeBilboquetAtl/status/1396292460490510339?s=20
Responses to the statement from the restaurant show apparent photos of other guests wearing athletic attire and say it was not the first instance this happened.
The Hall of Famer said on Twitter that when he first got to the restaurant, they told him there were no tables. They then told him he was “not dressed fashionably enough.”
That’s exactly what happened. I would have been fine if they said just no tables. But they looked me up and down before that and then said that and to add insult, talked about how my clothes were not appropriate when I was wearing designer casual pants and a shirt
— Dominique Wilkins ? (@DWilkins21) May 23, 2021
“I guess if there were no tables, then why the follow up comment?,” Wilkins tweeted.
He said if they just told him there were no tables, he’d be fine with that, “But they looked me up and down before that and then said that and to add insult, talked about how my clothes were not appropriate when I was wearing designer casual pants and a shirt,” he wrote.
The restaurant took to Twitter again on Sunday saying that the dress code policy is not meant to offend anyone and that they welcome an open dialogue with Wilkins. They said it was not their intention to make him feel unwanted.
“Our dress code policy is not meant to offend anyone but rather provide our guests with an acceptable clothing guide. We apologize for the confusion it may have caused. Our upscale dining experience and our brand’s culture is made up of multiple elements which includes our music, our food and our patrons’ attire. We are very sorry that our attempt to maintain consistency in our dress code policy caused Mr. Wilkins to feel unwanted in our restaurant as that was not our intention and would welcome an open dialogue with him,” the statement read.
“We do not, nor have we ever rejected someone based on their skin color. We are proud of our multicultural workforce at patronage,” they went on to say.
https://twitter.com/LeBilboquetAtl/status/1396498309162938368?s=20
The restaurant also said that due to a staff shortage, they are not able to seat as many tables in the restaurant.
A lot of time companies used dress codes to hide their racism behind laws that provide cover.
