The Dallas BBQ located in Times Square at 241 West 42nd Street was swollen with tourists and locals on the evening of Friday, Aug. 8, per usual. Patrons entered through revolving doors, lined the wall beside the partition, and trickled up the escalator before they waited 15 to 20 minutes to be seated.

A party of four (three African Americans and one Dominican American) were among the many people patronizing the restaurant that evening. Unbeknownst to them, the quick meal that they hoped to grab before they paid a trip to the haunted attraction Time Scare would result in the NYPD being called on them because of a disagreement over the restaurant's sanitary and ethical practices.

The unjust treatment of patrons based on race by food service employees within the restaurant industry is systematic and industry-wide. Racial stereotypes often inform the way staff and servers interact with customers, influencing the quality, timeliness and efficacy of service. Many servers function under the impression that minorities lack dining etiquette or won't tip, so they preemptively treat minority customers poorly.

In the case of the foursome who ventured to Dallas BBQ, they waited 15 minutes before being addressed by a server. They ordered, and 20 minutes later their food made a pitstop at a neighboring table before it was given to them.

Thirty minutes later, while eating their meal, the group said they overheard a conversation from the neighboring table, where a woman loudly professed to the general manager, "I touched [that table's] wings, [the waiter] saw that... and he gave it to that table anyway." Upon hearing this, the group stopped eating, and demanded to speak with the manager regarding the wings, wanting them removed from the bill.

The manager, who went by the name Carlos Lyn, didn't stop to speak with the group, they said. Instead, he sent over a security guard, and eventually called the NYPD to the scene, stating that if the group didn't pay the full bill they would be arrested.

The group attempted to communicate their plight to the NYPD officers, who ultimately told them to pay the bill or they would be arrested for theft. So, they paid and left, all the while watched by the staff and officers as they left the property.

"I was so embarrassed ... and I've never been treated like that in a restaurant," recalled one member of the group, a 21-year-old African-American woman. "And, we didn't do anything wrong ... we just told them how disgusting it was that someone touched our food, and we didn't think that we should had to pay for it, but they said because we ate five of the ten wings that we had to pay for it. They didn't even try to accommodate us, they just called the cops."

The 25-year-old Dominican woman expressed feeling that the poor service, lackluster attitudes, repeat requests for assistance, employees' refusal to give their names, dismissiveness and the police presence was "targeted and racially motivated."

"Not only was this experience completely unjust, but it also seemed to me that we were being discriminated against. They called the cops on a party of three African-Americans and a Puerto Rican-American who had a legitimate complaint. A nearby Caucasian couple seemed to be treated with more respect, and didn't look to be experiencing any of the service problems we were," stated one of the meal-goers, a 23-year-old African-American male who said that he only wanted an apology from the restaurant at this point.

The Dallas BBQ Corporation was contacted about the dining experience twice, but failed to respond. When the NYC Health Department Press Office was contacted, a representative suggested that a complaint be filed with the Human Rights Commission, offering, "In the course of their investigation they may also look into the restaurant for food handling practices, but the larger issue raised is one of discrimination."

The Better Business Bureau made similar suggestions (contacting the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and NYC Commission on Human Rights), clarifying that they did not handle complaints alleging health violations or discrimination. Instead, they forwarded the complaint to Dallas BBQ since the BBB had no jurisdiction.

Unfortunately, the discrimination felt by the four young people isn't unique. Wild Wing Cafe in North Charleston, South Carolina was accused of blatant discrimination after failing to serve a table of African-American customers for more than two hours because a white customer was threatened by their presence.

In 1994, Denny's settled a $46 million discrimination suit. Twenty-one people filed a $100 million federal lawsuit against Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc, accusing them of widespread racism. The lawsuit claimed that the restaurant segregated African-American customers, seating them in the smoking section whether they smoked or not. The complaints also alleged systematic discrimination in 175 cities in 30 states. The restaurant chain owns and operates 450 restaurants in 37 states.

Contacting the BBB and/or the corporation in question may or may not be useful when attempting to communicate dissatisfaction about a business, as filing a complaint sometimes yields limited results. However, the growing dependency on social media and websites such as Yelp, has helped customers to effectively communicate their opinions and experiences. There, customers are able to warn others and precisely dissect their customer experience for future patrons, also changing behaviors in such establishments and influencing customers decisions regarding destinations. The FDA also accepts complaints about restaurant experiences.

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