CEDAR HILL, Texas _ Dallas-based Chili's restaurant chain has apologized after video showed a manager taking away a man's free meal on Veterans Day.
Ernest Walker, 47, went to Chili's Grill and bar on Friday for the chain's promotion of a free meal for veterans. Walker said he brought his military ID, discharge papers and service dog, Barack, and sat down to eat.
Walker, who is black, wrote on Facebook that an elderly white man wearing a Donald Trump shirt approached him and "he said he was in Germany, and that they did not let Blacks serve over there." The man left, came back to pet Walker's dog, and left again.
Later, as Walker was getting ready to leave with a to-go box to pick up his wife, a manager he identified as Wesley Patrick approached him from the same area where the older man had come from, Walker wrote.
The manager said a customer told him that Walker is "not a real soldier because I had my hat on indoors," and customers nearby could hear him, Walker wrote. Walker showed him his military ID and discharge papers, and then the manager told him "the guest also said your dog is not a service dog," though "Barack had his service vest on, and his certified service tags."
That's where the video picks up, Walker wrote, where the manager refused to acknowledge Walker's military documents and took away his to-go box. The video has been viewed more than 260,000 times.
Chili's responded to the incident in a Facebook comment, saying "we fell short" to "make every guest feel special," and the situation has been "escalated to the highest levels of our company."
The Dallas Morning News reported that in a prepared statement, Chili's said it is "reaching out" to Walker, and the manager's "actions do not reflect the beliefs of our brand."
Walker told NBCDFW that he served in the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division from 1987-1991. On Facebook, he shared an old military photo, saying he was a homeless teenager sleeping behind a grocery store when a recruiter saw him. He said signing up for military service saved his life.
The Associated Press reported that he bought the fatigues he was wearing Friday after he was discharged, and that his lawyer planned to meet with Chili's on Monday. He told NBCDFW he wears the uniform without his name or rank on it once a year because he doesn't want to be mistaken for an active-duty soldier.
