A Virginia couple has been barred from a popular area restaurant after leaving a scribbled message on their receipt for their Latino server reading "WE ONLY TIP CITIZENS."

Sadie Karina Elledge found the hateful message hours after the couple had left the Jess' Lunch restaurant and immediately alerted her boss.

"I went up to my boss - everybody was upset, I was upset," said Elledge, who is of Honduran and Mexican descent, but nonetheless was born in the U.S. "It shouldn't matter if I'm Latina or not, everybody should be treated with respect and be treated the same."

Suspicious Actions

While at the restaurant, Elledge recalled the couple wouldn't speak with her much while they dined on gyros, a Greek salad and soda at the counter, only responding to her questions by nodding their heads.

"I asked them if they were all right, and they just nodded their heads. [After eating], they came up to pay, and they signed their receipt."

Eventually, Elledge's grandfather photographed the receipt and posted it on his Facebook page, where it quickly went viral and prompted another visit to the restaurant by the couple who left the message.

Words Exchanged

They were banned from the establishment after manager Thomas Marchese said they threatened several employees.

The man "was yelling and screaming about the four digits [of the credit card]," said Marchese. "I said it's not even your card. Are you really concerned about that or are you more concerned about what was put on social media? He said, 'Well, both.' "

Marchese later revealed restaurant owner Angeliki Floros is also an immigrant. She recently took to Facebook where she wrote, "Jess' Lunch is one of the oldest established businesses in Harrisonburg, it was built by immigrants run by immigrants and loved by its community."

Related