Spur bans bully from restaurants

SPUR Steak Ranches yesterday banned a white male customer from all its restaurants after he was involved in an altercation with a black female patron at one of its restaurants in Johannesburg.

The heated exchange, in front of small children, which included profanities, happened at Texamo Spur at The Glen Shopping Mall, south of Johannesburg, on Sunday.

The incident was captured on video and has gone viral on social media. In a statement yesterday, Spur said it was “very disappointed” that children were exposed to “this type of behaviour” and assured the public and its customers that it would not be taking the incident lightly.

“The man in the video is not welcome at any Spur restaurant nationally. We do not condone any form of violence against women or children, irrespective of the circumstances,” Spur said.

The woman, a nurse employed by the City of Johannesburg, posted a video of the altercation on Facebook. She said she was disappointed with how the restaurant staff and management handled the incident. She was having a meal with her family and several children at the restaurant, celebrating the birthday for one of them. In the video a man is seen approaching the woman’s table and can be heard hurling insults.

He accuses her child of hitting his daughter. She stands up and a verbal exchange ensues. The man threatens to “klap” her if she does not discipline her child. He appears to be restrained by his partner.

They seem to be leaving, when suddenly the man turns back and grabs and lifts the table, causing plates to fall to the ground. Other patrons eventually calm him until he leaves.

“And this was supposed to be a birthday lunch for a 3-year-old… and this is what transpired at The Glen Spur… Disappointed with the Spur staff and manager,” posted the woman.

Spur said it had investigated the incident after being alerted to the video. “Upon viewing the video content that’s been circulated on social media we are shocked at the adults for behaving in the manner they did, especially with so many children around.

“As a family restaurant, Spur does not condone this type of behaviour,” Spur said.

“We have investigated the incident with Texamo Spur staff and management, who expressed that they did in fact try to intervene, but were pushed away numerous times by the angry male customer… Staff notified The Glen Shopping Mall security.”

The video has caused an outpouring of anger on Twitter and Facebook.