San Francisco restaurant fires employee after racist slur found on receipt

SAN FRANCISCO - A San Francisco restaurant says it has fired an employee after he left a racist message on a customer's receipt. That customer tells KTVU she was visiting the Bay Area from the East Coast, when she got the shocking message. The restaurant tells KTVU it acted immediately.

A family trip to California was marred by what one family said they saw on their receipt from Pica Pica Arepa Kitchen in San Francisco's Mission District on Monday afternoon. 

After ordering food, Whitney Washington said her family sat down waiting for their order, and looked at the receipt. "My daughter is actually the one who notices in the upper right-hand corner that it says what it says. 'Here the N-word,'" said Washington. 

Washington and her family checked other customers' receipts and confirmed that they were the only ones in the restaurant whose receipt had the racial slur. "We were the only Black people in the restaurant," said Washington. "She showed us her receipt, and in the same spot where ours said 'here the N-word' hers only said 'here.'"

Washington said she returned her food, and asked for her money back and an explanation. "I pointed to the 'here N-word,' and I said 'Do you know what this means?'" said Washington. "He didn't say no, he said 'I don't know how that got there.'"

Washington said the employee took the receipt from her, but not before she was able to snap a photo of it. She also said when she asked to see a manager he said there was no manager on duty.

At the restaurant on Tuesday, a manager said she learned of the incident shortly after it happened, and took immediate action. "I am so glad that I can talk to you to clear this matter," said Vena, a woman who identified herself as a manager. "Because it's totally unacceptable."

"We fired the employee right away. I didn't know what is going on," said Vena.

The manager also said the former employee had no explanation for his actions; and to top it off, she says when she fired him, he tried to turn the tables. "Fired him, pay him in full everything, and he was going to sue me," said Vena. "But I say, 'come!' I have it in writing." 

Washington and her family flew home to Maryland following the incident. She says after considering what happened, she's more shaken today than when she first saw the slur. "I know some people use that term culturally, interchangeably," said Washington. "That is not a term I use in my home. I don't use that word, we don't call people that word and nobody calls us that word."

San Francisco police confirmed to KTVU they had received a report about the racist message. At this point, it's unclear where that will go from here. 

Washington says, although she is shaken by her experiences, she says she has also seen the beauty and diversity of San Francisco. She says when confronted by racism she felt it was important to speak out, and fight back.