A group of women dining at a restaurant in Newport Beach, California, say they were racially profiled after staff questioned whether they had paid their bill, despite having done so in cash and receiving a receipt.
The situation escalated when restaurant staff said the women’s waitress had already been asked about the tab before the group was approached. The aftermath was recorded and posted to TikTok, where commenters shared potential next steps, with many immediately leading with a lawsuit.
TikTok user @babyaape took to the social media profile to post her experience at a restaurant named JOEY’s in Newport Beach. After having eaten her meal and paid, she and her table were reportedly on their way out of the restaurant when they were stopped by a staff member and asked if they had paid. Even after showing their receipt, the employee reportedly still didn’t believe them.
This is when additional wait staff was brought in, where it was discovered that the tab was still open for some reason. According to the text written over the video, “#joeysnewportbeach me and my homegirl got racially profiled… from all the white people they accused us two color girls of not paying our tab.. if you are of color joeys new port is not the place to go!“
Many of the top comments under the video immediately advise the women in the video to seek legal help, with one person saying, “It cost about $50-100 to file a lawsuit down at the courthouse yourself you don’t need a lawyer! FILE A LAWSUIT.” Other commenters focused on supporting the women, with another person saying, “I’m so proud of you for standing up for yourselves! Good job! I’m sorry this happened to you.”
California Women Confronted About Unpaid Tab Despite Paying In Cash
One commenter claimed they had experienced something similar at the restaurant, writing:
Sorry, ladies, Joey’s is well known for this. I went and took my daughter for a lunch date. Worst decision ever. We were the only asian there at that time. They kept passing by our table. I placed an order, then I went to use the restroom with my kids. When I came back, they had cleaned our entire table. (Still decided to stay gave benefit of the doubt tbh I should’ve walked out) The food was disgusting and the glass they used for my soda was different from the glass they used for their white customer. I complained they gave me a refund and offer me a $100 gc.
Some commenters also encouraged viewers to leave reviews on the restaurant’s Google page. As of now, the restaurant has not publicly responded to the allegations.
