Store worker accused of using black racial slur

A gourmet popcorn shop in Emeryville called Cornology is under fire after witnesses said an employee demanded that a group of young, black customers leave the store while repeatedly uttering a racial slur.

The chief executive officer of the company, Mark Stone, said in an interview that the worker shouted “n—” while chasing a group of roughly 25 juveniles from the store who had taken popcorn, soda and change from a tip jar. Stone said the employee, who has not been identified, remains employed by Cornology.

Emeryville police officials confirmed that officers responded to a call at the Emeryville outpost of Cornology on Sunday. No arrests were made.

Stone said the employee used the racial epithet in “the heat of the moment.” Witnesses to the episode, though, tell a different story.

Fay Eastman and Aisha Weber, both of whom said they saw the incident unfold in its

entirety, described the Cornology employee aggressively demanding that a contingent of black shoppers — around 10 people — leave the shop only moments after they entered.

During an exchange with the group, the employee said “n—” multiple times, they said. Both Adams and Eastman said the juveniles were not stealing, but reacted to the behavior of the employee by knocking over items in the store during the dispute.

“I didn’t see those kids running out with bags of popcorn. He just didn’t want them in the store,” said Eastman.

Weber, an Emeryville native, said the shopping center is a normal place for groups of young people to spend their free time. When the group in question entered the Cornology store, Weber said the employee behind the counter threw up his arms and told the visitors to leave.

“He said, ‘Get out of here n—s,’ and he was throwing his hands in the air,” Weber said. “That came from his heart. That came from him. He didn’t want those kids in the store from the beginning.”

The incident gained attention when it was

recapped by Eastman in a Facebook post on that same day. It garnered more than 4,300 shares and over 700 comments less than 24 hours after appearing online.

As the story spread online, Cornology was flooded with negative reviews on Yelp, its nowdeactivated Facebook account and Instagram. The backlash spurred Stone to respond to the growing outrage.

“Regretfully, you can’t take back something that was in the heat of the moment. We’re very sorry that was the result of what happened,” Stone told The Chronicle. “Unfortunately, some employees were sick over the weekend, so there was only one person in the store. It

startled him. He regrets it terribly. It’s not who he is or who we are.”

In the days since, Stone said business has continued as normal at the Emeryville Cornology, despite growing outrage.

“We’re hoping (for) the community, while maybe not to forgive us, but to have a little more understanding of the situation,” he said.

According to the company’s website, Cornology is based in Pleasant Hill and has retail outlets in Emeryville, Walnut Creek and Japan. A new store is coming soon in San Francisco.

Eastman said she spoke with the Cornology employee after the group left the store and told him he should not

use that type of language with young people.

“Those types of moments shape their world for the rest of their life,” she said. “I thought I could rationalize it and explain that to him, but nope. He really didn’t understand why he shouldn’t have said what he said.”

The Cornology incident comes after Starbucks said it would close 8,000 stores on May 29 to facilitate racial bias training among its employees.

The training is a response to the public backlash after two black men — Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson — were handcuffed and arrested at a Starbucks in Philadelphia after an employee called police because they had not purchased anything in the store. Both men said they were at the coffee shop while waiting for a business associate. Video of the incident has since been viewed millions of times on social media.

Weber said she, along with other witnesses to the incident, wants Cornology to issue a formal apology and to make sure the employee is reprimanded in some capacity.

“It needs to be addressed more than it has already,” she said. “Who knows how long this has been going on there?”

Justin Phillips is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jphillips@ sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JustMrPhillips