Most of the scholarly and popular discourse to date on the topic of racial discrimination within the restaurant industry has centered on the unjust treatment experienced by employees who are racial minorities. However, discriminatory service based on race also is—or should be—an industry concern. Based on a review of evidence, race-based discrimination in restaurants is a systemic, industry-wide problem. One source of this problem is a social psychological process involving the diffusion and reinforcement of racial stereotypes that servers use to inform the nature of their interactions with customers. Using social psychological principles, restaurateurs should first interdict the diffusion of inappropriate stereotypes by immediately squelching all such talk. Then management must reverse existing damage, by demonstrating the inaccuracy or exaggerated nature of certain beliefs. This article concludes with a call for increased engagement with the issue of racially motivated discriminatory service in our nation’s restaurants.
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