Texas restaurant now says ‘We don’t tip terrorist’ receipt faked

The Texas restaurant company that banned a customer after an employee’s story of a receipt scrawled with a racial epithet went viral said Monday that it had parted ways with the employee and learned that the story was spurious.

“After further investigation, we have learned that our employee fabricated the entire story,” Terry Turney, the chief operating officer of Saltgrass steakhouses, said in a statement. “Racism of any form is intolerable, and we will always act swiftly should it occur in any of our establishments. Falsely accusing someone of racism is equaling disturbing.”

The incident unfolded earlier this month when Khalil Cavil, a 20-year-old waiter at a Saltgrass outpost in Odessa, Texas, posted an image to Facebook that showed a $108 bill with zero on the tip line, and “We don’t tip terrorist,” written in ink at the top. Cavil, who is of mixed black and white parentage, said that he received the note from one of his tables, and that it left him “sick to my stomach.”

“I share this because I want people to understand that this racism, and this hatred still exists,” he wrote. “Although, this is nothing new, it is still something that will test your faith.”

Cavil’s post was shared thousands of times, generating about 8,000 comments. The decision by Saltgrass, which is owned by the company Landry’s, to ban the customer for the incident drew coverage in USA Today, CBS, and The Washington Post.

“Racism of any form is unacceptable,” Turney said at the time.

On Monday, the company declined to explain what had caused it to issue the striking about-face or whether Cavil had been dismissed.

“All I can say is he’s no longer with the company,” spokeswoman Colleen Wagner said.

The customer, whose name had been redacted on the receipt, has not been identified, but the company said that the person had been invited back to the restaurant to dine for free.

Cavil was not available for comment. The Odessa American reported that he had apologized in an interview with a reporter.

After his story went viral, Cavil thanked supporters on Facebook who sent him money. But Cavil’s Facebook posts about the incident have since been deleted and it is not clear if his profile still exists on the service.

At the time, Cavil gave an interview to an ABC affiliate in Texas in which he spoke about what he said was the history of his name and about how his faith was guiding him through the experience of supposedly being called a terrorist.

“It was not about the money,” Cavil said. “It’s about shedding a light on an issue I feel very passionately about.”