Lem barney1/5/2024 "He doesn't need to sue Happy's Pizza for attention."īarney, 73, is a seven-time Pro Bowler who led the NFL with 10 interceptions as a rookie in 1967. "I've known Barney a long time," Acho said. He said that while the Happy's Pizza corporation "may have a certain philosophy" about social justice and fairness, that doesn't mean that it's adhered to "in a rural setting like Commerce Township." and Mrs Barney’s accusations of racial discrimination." Happy's Pizza also has stressed that it is heavily involved in the Detroit community and with the NFL, and that it does not condone racism.īut what the corporation does or believes in is different from what a franchise might do, argues the Barneys' lawyer, James Acho, who believes his clients are telling the truth and plans on requesting surveillance tapes. It denies any racism was involved in the incident and said it is "deeply saddened by Mr. Happy's Pizza said no one at the Commerce Township store recalls anyone telling the Barneys to go to Southfield. "I told my husband, 'Lem, let's go.' I never felt like that in my life," Jacqueline Barney recalled. "Go to Southfield! Go to Southfield!" she recalled him shouting twice.Ī tall, younger man appeared from behind the counter and towered over her. "So then I said, 'What is it? You don't want blacks in your store?' " A few minutes passed so she asked again, 'So, do you plan on waiting on us?' He never said a word. She said, 'Oh, that's real nice.' She continued to stand there, waiting for service. The man told her he was cooking for a big party. The person from behind the counter just stood there when Jacqueline asked, "Are you going to wait on us?" The couple waited for a while but no one helped them. The lights were on and staff was cooking food while a man stood at the counter. 2, she and her husband went to the Happy's Pizza on North Pontiac Trail to order food. Here, according to Jacqueline Barney, is what happened that night:Īt about 5:30 p.m. "That's what they should have done, but don't tell me to go to Southfield," said Jacqueline Barney, who is adamant that she was discriminated against. 6.īut several nagging questions still eat at the Barneys, specifically: Why were they told to go to Southfield? And why didn't the manager just tell them the restaurant was closed? The deputy's report followed the narrative of Happy's Pizza, which has denied claims that the Barneys were denied service because they are African-American. Rather, the pizza chain has said that the Commerce Township location wasn't open to the public yet on the day in question and that about 30 other people were also turned away. He denied any knowledge of the incident," the report states.Īs of late Thursday, the sheriff's deputy could not be reached for comment. "I advised the manager of the allegations against his employees. That's when the manager informed him of the soft opening and the restaurant not being open to the public, the report stated. According to the report, the deputy called the restaurant from his in-car cell phone to inquire about the incident. The report also notes that the deputy handled the Barney's complaint over the phone - the lawsuit says he went to the restaurant. "I advised that this incident was a civil matter and she agreed with me." I agreed that it wasn't right for her to be told to go back to Southfield because she was a black female if that's what happened," the report states. "I advised Barney that (that) was probably the reason she did not receive service.
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