A local restaurant is once again the target of racial harassment claims.
Around 8:30 Tuesday night, a manager at Bahama Breeze in Orange Village called police claiming about 40 guests were “worked up about the bill” and did not want to pay.
The manager also claimed some members of the crowd used profanity and disrespect.
But patrons, who were mainly black professionals, have a different take.
Chante Spencer believes they were racially profiled and because of that, falsely accused of being guests who would skip out and not pay.
She claims at least one person was even asked to produce a receipt before they could leave the restaurant while police kept watch.
It was not the first time the restaurant has been accused of racial harassment.
In 2009, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced a settlement involving 37 black workers, who claimed, their managers repeatedly used racial slurs and denied them breaks.
The company paid more than a million dollars and was ordered to provide anti-discrimination and diversity training to staff.
On Wednesday evening, many of those who believed they were racially profiled returned to Bahama Breeze, this time to protest outside of the restaurant. You can watch our coverage from WKYC's Facebook Live below:
Bahama Breeze is owned by Darden Concepts of Orlando, which also owns The Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse and Yard House.
We reached out to Darden Concepts for a comment and received this statement: "We clearly fell short of delivering great service, and we’ve invited the guests back in order to provide an exceptional Bahama Breeze experience."