INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Chili’s Restaurant Apologizes After Manager Takes Army Veteran Ernest Walker’s Free Meal On Veteran’s Day

By Lindsay McCane
Published on: 04:18 PST, Nov 15, 2016

The restaurant chain Chili’s has apologized after one of their managers took a Veteran’s free meal on Veteran’s day.

According to USA Today, Army Veteran Ernest Walker, 47, arrived at Chili’s on Veteran’s Day with his service dog because the restaurant was offering free meals for Veterans. It was while he was waiting for his leftovers to be packed up that the incident unfolded.

As the Dallas News reports, an elderly white man approached him and started questioning him about his military service.

“[He] asked me what unit did I serve in the 24th, I said no the 25th. He said he was in World War 2 in Germany and we did not see people like you over there,” Walker wrote in a Facebook post recalling the incident on Friday. “They would not allow blacks.”

Walker said he simply listened to the old man talk as he waited patiently for his food. However, it wasn’t long after the man left his table that the manager of Chili’s came to his table and asked to see his military ID.

“The manager comes and says some guests at the restaurant say that you’re not a real Soldier,” Walker wrote. “I reply, ‘what are you serious what guest?’ The manager Wesly Patrick said can I see military ID? I felt that was reasonable, most people ask for that, so I showed him my ID it checked out.”

Walker also provided his discharge papers as proof that he was a real soldier and a Veteran of the United States Army. It seems as though this is where the conversation should have ended, but instead it continued to escalate when the manager asked if his dog was really a service dog. It was then that Walker decided to turn his video camera on his phone on to record the rest of the encounter.

“Barack had his red service vest on, and his certified service tags,” Walker wrote. “I was sitting for 35 minutes prior with Barack beforehand. At this point I was grossly offended, embarrassed dehumanized and started recording.”

The video shows Walker arguing with the manager over whether or not he had checked his military ID, and then shows the manager taking Walker’s free meal from him. To watch the complete video, click here.

“You have a great day,” the manager said before walking away with his leftover food.

Since Walker posted the video to Facebook, it has been viewed nearly 780,000 times and shared nearly 8,000, prompting Chili’s to respond to the actions of their manager, who has since been placed on administrative leave.

Kelli Valade, Chili’s Grill & Bar President, issued a statement saying they had apologized to Walker and thanked him for his service to our country. She also said they are working with his lawyers to come up with a resolution.

“We took swift action and immediately removed our manager from the restaurant,” Valade said. “We are now in the process of working with Mr. Walker on a resolution that promotes trust and healing.”

She added: “Our goal is to make every Guest that walks into our restaurants feel special, and we fully own that one of our restaurants fell short on an important day where we strive to honor our veterans and active military for their service.”

Lee Merit, Walker’s lawyer, said they were working on the legal aspects of the case because the manager assaulted his client. He added, however, that Ernest did not want to see the man permanently lose his job.

“[He’s] not interested in seeing the young man fired; didn’t want to see anyone lose their job,” Merritt said.

“My concern for the veteran is paramount, but we must also consider the manager and how he can become a better person and perhaps do better the next time he is put in a difficult situation,” Cedar Hill Mayor Rob Franke. “People do best and learn the most from experience. To learn requires patience and grace, neither of which can occur in the heat of emotion, demonstration, and anger.”

Do you think the Chili’s manager should be fired? Do you think what he did was wrong? Leave your comments below.

[Featured Image by Ken Wolter/ Shutterstock]

Share this article: Chili’s Restaurant Apologizes After Manager Takes Army Veteran Ernest Walker’s Free Meal On Veteran’s Day
veterans day
More from Inquisitr