A night out at a Dallas restaurant apparently turned into a public dispute after a manager told a group of Black diners she could no longer serve them, citing the smell of marijuana. One member of the group recorded the exchange and posted it on TikTok, where it has drawn millions of views.
The TikTok video shows creator Andrea Chantel confronting a restaurant manager at Maroma, a restaurant in Dallas. In the clip, Chantel repeatedly asks the manager why the group is being denied service, and the manager says she based her decision on smelling marijuana. Chantel and her group deny that anyone in their party had been smoking.
The restaurant, Maroma, later addressed the incident in a public statement, saying staff had smelled cannabis near the restrooms and that the decision to stop serving alcohol was not based on race.
Video captures tense exchange over restaurant’s decision to stop serving alcohol
In the recorded video, Chantel says, “We don’t smoke,” and asks the manager, “So you’re saying you can’t serve us because of why?” The manager responds, “I can’t smell you. I can’t serve you because I smelled it when-” before Chantel cuts her off.
@andreachantel I genuinely never thought I’d have to post something like this. We went to Maroma in Dallas expecting to have a normal night out, and instead walked away feeling racially profiled and completely humiliated. The craziest part? I recorded the interaction. This is what happened. Watch it and decide for yourself. Being a paying customer should never come with being treated differently because of how you look. Dallas, we need to talk about this. @maroma #DallasTikTok #DallasTX #DallasRestaurants #RacialProfiling #BlackTikTok
♬ original sound – Andrea Chantel
Chantel repeatedly asks the manager, “Do you smoke?” and states, “I don’t smoke.” The manager replies, “I can only go off of-” and Chantel interrupts again, asking for the manager’s name. The manager identifies herself as Ella. Chantel then says, “And you’re discriminating.” The manager denies this, saying, “I’m not. I’m making a-” before Chantel says, “We don’t smoke. No one here smokes.”
The manager then says, “So now you can’t serve us because we smell like smoke? I’m coming to you and telling you that I can’t serve because I can smell marijuana, and I won’t be serving another table.” Chantel responds, “Yes. Okay.” The video ends with the manager walking away from the table.
In her caption for the video, Chantel wrote that she and her group “walked away feeling racially profiled and completely humiliated.” She added, “Being a paying customer should never come with being treated differently because of how you look.”
Chantel posted her first video on TikTok giving details about the night. She said the group had been told upon arrival that they could be seated but not stay long, since the restaurant already had reservations. She said she asked where the restroom was and was directed to a hallway with a single men’s stall and a single women’s stall. She said the women’s stall was occupied, so after waiting a few minutes, she used the men’s stall instead.
Chantel said that about 15 minutes after she used the restroom, the group was approached by a woman she identified as Danielle, the general manager, who said there had been complaints that the women’s restroom smelled like marijuana. Based on that, Chantel said, the manager told the group she would no longer serve them alcohol. Chantel said she was the only person in her group who had gone to the restroom, and that she had used the men’s stall, not the women’s stall.
@andreachantel I’m tired. Like genuinely exhausted. It’s 2026, and we love to believe we’ve grown so far beyond prejudice and discrimination… until you’re the person experiencing it. The amount of hate I’ve received for simply wanting to be treated fairly is overwhelming. I’m hurt. My heart hurts Anyway… storytime Pt 2 coming #racialprofiling DisDiscriminationcRacismStillExistseakUp
♬ original sound – Andrea Chantel
In the same video, Chantel said, “I understand how I handled the situation was inappropriate. I was coming from a place of anger. I was hurt.” She also said she was seeking legal counsel and planned to get an official drug test, while holding up a drug test kit and saying, “I bear receipts.”
She also claimed that former employees of Casa Brasa, another restaurant she said is owned by the same company as Maroma, told her the company discriminates against Black customers. On-screen text during this claim read “ALLEGEDLY.” Allegations of racial profiling at Dallas restaurants have surfaced before, such as when Black women were allegedly told they couldn’t take pictures at a famous Dallas restaurant.
Maroma responded with a statement posted to its Instagram account, which Chantel showed in a later video. The statement said, “We are aware of a video circulating on social media regarding a recent incident at Maroma, and we want to provide important context.”
It said staff had smelled “a strong odor of cannabis coming from the area adjacent to the restrooms and the restaurant restroom,” and that management decided continuing to serve alcohol “would not allow us to responsibly maintain a safe and comfortable environment for everyone in our restaurant.” The statement also said the decision “had nothing to do with race, background, or identity.”
In a third TikTok video, responding to a comment asking why it would matter if others at the table smoked when Chantel was the only one who used the restroom, Chantel said, “The original accusation was that one of us were smoking in the bathroom. I was the only one that went to the bathroom, which is why I picked up the phone, which is why I was angry, which is why I posted and recorded it.”
She questioned the restaurant’s explanation, saying, “And what makes you think it’s coming from us?” She ended the video by saying, “I’m not going to continue to entertain this. You guys can continue to fight each other online and be upset, but racism still exists.” Such disputes can involve racial profiling, like when a black woman in Missouri was told to speak English at a Chinese restaurant.
@andreachantel Replying to @donyaelanese thank you donyae!
♬ original sound – Andrea Chantel
The original video has drawn strong reactions in the comments section. One commenter wrote, “what does smelling marijuana have to do with buying food.” Another asked, “How she know it wasn’t the people next to yall?” One person said, “I hope she gets FIRED.”
Another commenter offered a different view, writing, “Restaurant consultant here! Unless yall ordered alcohol she has no reason to even ask this.” Someone else wrote, “Marijuana has a terrible smell. It’s their restaurant and their policies.” Another comment read, “The moment you start shouting you loose your argument. self control is very important.”
