DON'T EAT HERE!!!!!!!
On June 14th, at about 5:00, my son and I went to Lombardi's in Dobbs Ferry for a quick slice. Living across the street, you would think that it would be ideal. In the last year that we have lived, we had been there on two (2) previous occasions. Not that there was anything that I could put my finger on, but I always had an uncomfortable feeling there. Well, today, to my surprise, the reason showed its ugly head. After having an uneasy exchange with the young man who took our order, a young man who I could tell was not a typical person himself (my son is a 13-year-old with Autism), seemed put out by my asking him not to leave the slices in too long because my son would burn his mouth if they were too hot. After paying for our order, we sat down and began to eat, when the young man who had taken care of us was having a conversation with a co-worker, who blurted out "I was surprised to see that they let black people in here". Everyone turned and looked at him, with a co-worker even hitting him and giving him a stern look. An uncomfortable silence fell on the restaurant, so much so that you could hear the proverbial "pin drop". Thank God for small miracles, either my son didn't hear the comment or was too involved in his iPad to pick up on the blatant racist comment. Needless to say, I was furious, stunned, and totally flabbergasted. I ask my son to pack up what was left of his food, we were leaving, but him being the person that he is, he just said he wanted another juice. I went to another employee and asked her to accept payment for another bottle of juice, which she did uneasily, apparently embarrassed by the statement. Seeing that not all of the employees were complicit in this racist attitude, I asked to speak to a manager. She goes into the kitchen area and returns 10 seconds later, which indicated that he must have been within range to have heard the comment and not do anything. After recounting the incident to him, he replied:" look, there are 40 people who work here, I can't control what all of them say". After seeing the bewildered on my face, he goes on to say " he will be repermanded, he won't ever do that again". Again seeing that his assurances were not having his desired effect asks if he can get me anything that will make me feel better!! Which was probably tthe most offensive and insulting comment of all. So, over my son's objections, I packed his remaining food and we left! I'm dumbfounded!!! That in this day and age, I mean, come on, it 2019, how can they not have a clue? If you are a person of color, please I implore you DONT!!! If you're not, shame on you if you still eat here! By the way, if you were wondering, I am Caribbean American. read more