A Black couple who were kicked out of a Memphis restaurant in 2022 for allegedly smelling like marijuana filed a federal racial discrimination lawsuit last week against the eatery.
Dechandria Bass and boyfriend Dwan Brown, from Coahoma County in Mississippi, were in Tennessee on Aug. 7, 2022, to visit Brown’s mother and cousin, according to the suit filed Thursday in federal court.
The couple met up with the family members at Houston's Restaurant on Poplar Avenue in Memphis.
Shortly after their arrival, restaurant manager Kayla Hollins, who is white, came to the group’s table and told the couple to leave because “they smelled like weed,” according to the lawsuit.
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The Hillstone Restaurant Group said in a statement Wednesday it does not comment on pending litigation. But, the statement added: “Our Company does not discriminate as anyone who has ever dined at our restaurant can attest. We are proud [that] guests of all races choose to dine regularly at Houston’s and appreciate our hospitality.”
Bass and Brown seek at least $500,000 each in damages for humiliation, embarrassment and emotional distress, the lawsuit said.
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