A Dallas woman said she and her friends were told they could not take pictures inside Casa Brasa, a restaurant in Dallas, Texas, only to watch another group of women take photos in the same spot shortly after. The video she posted has since gone viral, drawing widespread attention to the alleged incident.
Blessida Yeboah, who goes by Bless on social media, posted the video to her TikTok account. In it, she stands outside the restaurant at night, filming through the glass door as a group of women poses for photos on a curved blue couch inside. “He tells us we can’t take pictures here, but they can,” she said in the video. “They literally sent us out when we came to take pictures, and these girls are taking pictures and they’re literally letting them.”
Yeboah told Atlanta Black Star that she believes the women who were allowed to take pictures inside were not Black. She and her friends, she said, were out that evening to celebrate a friend’s graduation.
The restaurant has a published no-photography policy, but Yeboah says it was not applied equally
According to Yeboah, she and her friends arrived at Casa Brasa about 10 minutes before their reservation and began taking photos in the waiting area. A man she described as possibly a manager or host approached them and told them no pictures were allowed. “I don’t know if he was a manager or if he was one of the hosts…came up to us and said no pictures allowed,” she told Atlanta Black Star.
@blessidaa Casa brasa in Dallas Texas Like mid photoshoot we said no pictures but yet they can have an entire photoshoot okay
♬ original sound – BLESSIDA
Yeboah said she and her group went ahead and sat down for their meal without pushing back, assuming the restriction may have been limited to the waiting area.
After they finished eating and were on their way out, she said she noticed a different group of women taking photos with flash in that same waiting area, with no one stopping them. “I walked to the guy, and I was like, ‘But they can take pictures,'” she said. “His entire face dropped. So that’s when I pulled out my phone and began recording.” Similar to this case, another Atlanta restaurant complaint highlights issues of discrimination and service.
Casa Brasa’s Resy page lists a photography policy stating that photography, videography, and audio recording are not permitted anywhere inside the restaurant, including for social media and content creation purposes. The policy describes the restriction as a measure to preserve the restaurant’s ambiance and guest experience.
The video drew over 18,400 comments. A user named Shahab Moradi wrote: “This might be a discrimination case, consult a lawyer.” Another user wrote “racism is so ugly.” A reply from a user named zoe mom added: “And it makes absolutely no SENSE.”
In the days after the video was posted, Big Dill Hospitality, the company that owns Casa Brasa, reached out to Yeboah through Instagram direct messages, according to screenshots she shared with Atlanta Black Star. She said they had first contacted one of her friends asking for the video to be taken down, before messaging her directly.
In one message shared by Yeboah, the owner’s account wrote: “We have simply tried to explain our perspective and correct statements that we believe do not accurately reflect what occurred from our side. That does not invalidate how you personally felt about the interaction. At this point, it’s clear we are not going to fully agree on the situation, and continuing to go back and forth is likely not productive for either side.”
Yeboah said she responded by pointing out that the restaurant had not acknowledged the core inconsistency she raised. “You are still not acknowledging the fact that you’ve told several people that that night you told us several times to stop flash photography, which resulted in us not being able to take pictures. I see where this is going…no problem,” she wrote back, according to the screenshots.
Yeboah also said that the restaurant’s account blocked her and then unblocked her during the exchange. “I’ve noticed you JUST unblocked me. I have a screenshot and screen recording of the time I tried to access the account and so does my friend,” she said in one message.
Big Dill Hospitality reportedly responded by saying they blocked her due to harassment and threats their staff had been receiving. They also claimed that four employees quit as a result of the backlash. Yeboah disputed that figure. “You saw the video; there were only two,” she told Atlanta Black Star.
Casa Brasa issued a public statement on its Instagram account describing the claims against it as false. “Casa Brasa is a proud minority-owned restaurant that welcomes guests of all backgrounds, cultures, identities, and abilities,” the statement said. The restaurant alleged that Yeboah’s group had taken “multiple posed photos and flash photography” and had been “disturbing surrounding tables.”
Some viewers also alleged in the comments that the restaurant had been deleting one-star reviews left on its Google page following the incident. One user named kikilitter_ replied, noting that “Google deletes mass 1 star reviews because they consider it a situation where they’re not real reviews.”
Yeboah, for her part, said the issue came down to consistency. “If they have a rule, enforce it on every single person and make sure that their employees are on the same wavelength with everything,” she said. Similar inconsistencies in rule enforcement have been alleged at other venues, like a Miami Beach club denying entry over clothing.
