Former NBA Star Dominique Wilkins Claims Atlanta Restaurant Is Racist

Dominique Wilkins, Le Bilboquet Atlanta Restaurant Racism Claim

Atlanta Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins claims he was turned away from a Buckhead restaurant over the color of his skin on Saturday. He said the incident happened at a restaurant called
Le Bilboquet.  He wrote on social media,

“In my many years in the world, I’ve eaten at some of the greatest restaurants in the world, but never have I felt prejudice or been turned away because of the color of my skin, until today,”

The restaurant claims he was turned away because of the way he was dressed. In a statement on Twitter late Saturday, they said their policy prohibits “athletic clothing.”

“We do our best to accommodate all of our guests. We have a ‘business casual’ dress code which includes jeans & sneakers but prohibits athletic clothing including sweat pants & tops. The definition of “casual” is ever evolving, we strive to maintain our policy requirements daily,”

That Tweet that has since been removed and they shared another statement apologizing.

“Our dress code policy is not meant to offend anyone but rather provide our guests with an acceptable clothing guide. We apologize for the confusion it may have caused. Our upscale dining experience and our brand’s culture is made up of multiple elements which includes our music, our food and our patrons’ attire. We are very sorry that our attempt to maintain consistency in our dress code policy caused Mr. Wilkins to feel unwanted in our restaurant as that was not our intention and would welcome an open dialogue with him. “We do not, nor have we ever rejected someone based on their skin color. We are proud of our multicultural workforce at patronage,” they went on to say.

The restaurant, again, removed this statement and released a new one.

“We want to apologize to Mr. Wilkins for his experience at our restaurant and also for any confusion our dress code may have caused,” the new statement said. “We in no way intended for him to feel unwanted, and welcome an open dialogue with him. Our upscale dining experience and our brand’s culture is made up of multiple elements, which include our music, our food and our patrons’ attire. We continue to strive to manifest our dining experience in a way that is exciting and most importantly, inclusive.”

The restaurant also said in an earlier statement that due to a staff shortage, they are not able to seat as many tables in the restaurant.

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