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Dozens of employees walked out of their job at a Pennsylvania restaurant after management allegedly planned to add drinks named "The Negro" and "The Caucasian" to the menu.
According to the Gettysburg Times, at least 25 employees left Mela Kitchen in Mount Joy Township earlier this month because of the newly named cocktails.
“It was not an easy decision for all of us," former front-of-house manager Megan Dietz said. "It was really heavy. It was very emotional. For a lot of us, it was a full-time job.”
The decision to name the drinks "Negro" and "Caucasian" reportedly came down from company Core Theatre but was approved by the Mela Kitchen owner Donald Hoffman. Dietz and other employees sent a joint email in protest of drinks, saying they were "deeply uncomfortable" with the names.
"Your team at Mela refuses to represent an establishment that is OK with this type of language,” the email reads in part.
Dietz followed up the email, telling Hoffman that the employees were ready to leave the restaurant if the names of the cocktails weren't changed. According to the former manager, Hoffman told the staff to feel "free to walk out" and that he was "grossly offended" by the threat.
According to Revolt, Hoffman denied the allegations of being a "racist" in a now-deleted Facebook post.
“I have never been accused of what has been stated here because it simply is not true,” he said.
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