A TikToker recorded themselves confronting a restaurant hostess for the seating arrangement at an Olive Garden. User Shon (@shonti2funny) says that customers were being grouped by the color of their skin in the location, and asked the hostess why black customers were seated in one area of the restaurant away from other diners with a different skin complexion.
The hostess in the video denied that the seating arrangements were intentional and even showed Shon the software used by the Olive Garden to determine seating for patrons throughout their discussion, which culminated in Shon and her friend laughing about the incident.
@shonti2funny We was all thinking it so i asked😂🤷🏽♀️… #trending #viral #funny ♬ original sound – S H O N🎸D O N
The video begins with Shon walking through an Olive Garden and recording the diners seated in the restaurant. A text overlay reads, “So me and my friend went to Olive Garden and the host sat all the black ppl on one side and all the white ppl on another side..”
The clip then transitions to the TikToker outside of the restaurant, who then decides to walk back in and address the issue with the hostess. Another overlay reads, “So I decided to go back in and say sumn to her.”
Shon approaches a woman and asks her why all of the black customers were put on one side of the establishment. She appears confused by the statement and Shon walks her to the dining area in order to demonstrate what he’s referring to.
“Oh I didn’t know that,” she says as she gestures toward the seated guests. The hostess then leads Shon back to her workstation, saying, “I’ll show you on the computer you can come,” before adding that she’s serving the tables “equally” as the person recording the incident laughs off camera.
The hostess explains the seating arrangements, pointing out that sometimes she does favors for guests and allows them to sit where they would like. Shon then asks, “So, where would Rosa Parks be?”
“What you mean?” the hostess asks before the TikToker begins laughing, the end of the clip shows a still image of a black female diner looking shocked, and then the video cuts out. A caption for the clip states, “We was all thinking it so I asked.”
Shon’s video prompted a variety of different responses from viewers. Some said they, too, have experienced discrimination when going out to eat.
“Happened to me & my dad too, & another time they wouldn’t seat us at all completely ignored us so we walked out,” a user wrote.
Someone else shared, “That’s nothing. I went to Texas Roadhouse and we were sat in the back and I asked the server is this the Spanish section and he didn’t deny it.”
However, others said the hostess was ultimately telling the truth about the seating situation and it wasn’t done intentionally, with one user claiming, “She’s telling the truth. We did rotation on slow periods. Once we went on a wait. it was available by tables.”
Someone replied to that comment and stated that they were happy the restaurant employee took the time to show exactly how the table system worked.
“But I’m glad she showed him though because no one else would have which shows she cared and wanted to have both sides explained and understood,” they wrote.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Shon via TikTok comment and Olive Garden via email.
