INTERVIEW – ANNA SPIEGEL – Food Editor, Washingtonian – discussed an incident at a DC Wharf restaurant where police escorted diners out. Diner claims it was racial.
- This DC Wharf Restaurant Called the Police on a Diner For Alleged Hostile Behavior. She Says It Was a Racial Issue. Customers were escorted from Kaliwa, whose owners deny any bias. (Washingtonian) — Finding a hair in one’s food can be unappetizing at best—or an incident that sparks a debate over racial discrimination and a visit by the police at worst. At least that’s what occurred last week at the newly opened Wharf restaurant, Kaliwa. Damelia Shaw, a DC native of African American descent who works for a local marketing firm, says she visited the new Southeast Asian restaurant last Friday with a Latina friend who recently moved into one of the waterfront development’s condos. The duo sat at the bar in the packed restaurant, and Shaw detailed how the evening got off to an uneven start when they ordered a noodle dish that they thought was easily shareable, like pad thai, and were given a noodle soup instead. Shaw says a manager, who is white, offered them an additional pour of wine to ameliorate the misunderstanding—as is typical in the hospitality industry. Then a whole fish entree arrived. Shaw said her friend pulled “a long, black hair” out of the fish entree. The duo pointed out the hair to another employee and asked to see the same manager again. Shaw says the manager asked what they would like her to do, and so they requested she take the fish off the check. Shaw says a male employee came over, offering more gratis wine and dessert. “At that point, I was disgusted at how she [the manager] was handling the situation, and we just wanted to pay and leave,” says Shaw. Owners chef Cathal and Meshelle Armstrong refute the claims of racial bias or mishandling of the situation. Cathal, who was present in the open kitchen at the time but didn’t get personally involved, says he spoke with employees and diners—including African American customers who were seated next to Shaw—and also reviewed video footage of the night of the visit. “It’s clear that the likelihood of the hair she claimed wasn’t hers is actually hers,” says Armstrong, based on his review of the video (which didn’t include audio coverage). He says the whole fish was shared on a family-style plate and that Shaw’s friend found the hair on her own dining plate, according to video surveillance. READ MORE at The Washingtonian.
