[Lekooks] Atrocious situation at Fishbones in Delafield

Sun Jun 7 19:11:26 CDT 2020

Hey folks. I just went to their website and you are correct, it is no
longer there. But it was there. Perhaps they felt it was there long enough
and they had a meeting with the offended parties I guess. Anyway - I think
we should leave this now - because the friend of mine who originally
brought awareness to it is satisfied that they have made an initial effort
and she is going to keep an eye on whether or not they initiate some
training for their staff. If you want to make some calls and you haven't
yet, feel free to do so. I know they got swamped with them but go ahead if
you want to anyway. Rest assured however that there was an apology posted
and apparently the offended people saw that apology. If it were my
restaurant I would keep it on the website, they chose not to.

Because I just don't spend a whole lot of time online and following threads
like this, I am unlikely to continue to follow it. I feel I have brought
awareness to the situation and that action has been taken to bring
awareness to the restaurant owners and manager.
Just want you to know that I'm probably not going to keep up on any more
posts here about this situation.

On Sun, Jun 7, 2020, 8:04 AM Michael McNett, MD <
michael.mcnett at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> Love it!!
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jun 7, 2020, at 7:22 AM, Gerald Flakas via Lekooks <lekooks at lekook.org>
> wrote:
>
> 
> Here is their apology:
>
> "Due to the series of events that unfolded in our restaurant on Wednesday
> night, we feel it necessary to issue a public apology for the actions we
> took and anybody that was harmed. We overreacted and did more harm than
> good. We should have let free speech prevail and been allies and should not
> intervened; the situation should have been handled differently. We made a
> mistake and we are truly sorry. We are currently seeking ways to educate
> our staff so we can continue to serve the community as we have for the last
> twenty years. To the three guests that were impacted by our poor actions,
> we offer a heartfelt apology."
>
> No mention of the racial aspects of the incident, just "free speech", so
> looks a bit like a "whitewash" to me.
>
> Hopefully their manager Nathan's promised diversity training will help.
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: William Lizdas <wlizdas at gmail.com>
> To: Fran B. <sandhillcrane at hotmail.com>
> Cc: Christine Kunert <ckunert2 at gmail.com>; Timothy Fuller <
> fulldog49 at gmail.com>; Gerald Flakas <gerflak at aol.com>; lekooks at lekook.org
> <lekooks at lekook.org>; Suzette Nelson <horsewmn42 at gmail.com>; Bev B. <
> bevieb at centurytel.net>
> Sent: Sat, Jun 6, 2020 2:56 pm
> Subject: Re: [Lekooks] Atrocious situation at Fishbones in Delafield
>
> Check their Facebook site
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jun 6, 2020, at 1:12 PM, Fran B. via Lekooks <lekooks at lekook.org>
> wrote:
>
> 
>
> I just went to the Fishbones' website.  There is no statement or apology
> posted!
> Fran Bills
>
> Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
> Get Outlook for Android <https://aka.ms/ghei36>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Lekooks <lekooks-bounces at lekook.org> on behalf of Fran B. via
> Lekooks <lekooks at lekook.org>
> *Sent:* Saturday, June 6, 2020 1:10:04 PM
> *To:* Christine Kunert <ckunert2 at gmail.com>; Timothy Fuller <
> fulldog49 at gmail.com>
> *Cc:* Gerald Flakas <gerflak at aol.com>; lekooks at lekook.org <
> lekooks at lekook.org>; Bev B. <bevieb at centurytel.net>; Suzette Nelson <
> horsewmn42 at gmail.com>
> *Subject:* Re: [Lekooks] Atrocious situation at Fishbones in Delafield
>
> My council rep, Jackie Valdi, is going to try to get the City to adopt a
> statement that Delafield is a city that welcomes all regardless of race,
> religion or nationality.
> When I spoke with Nathan,  the Fishbones manager, I suggested he also work
> with other city business to promote a welcoming statement.
> Fran Bills
>
> Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
> Get Outlook for Android
> <https://eur05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Faka.ms%2Fghei36&data=02%7C01%7C%7C5e274914ff8b4daae2c508d80a44ebf5%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637270638414421290&sdata=wSXq8wc%2Fd9myLK03k68TfVgNnMpSq7tx3qDiJC%2FnogY%3D&reserved=0>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Timothy Fuller <fulldog49 at gmail.com>
> *Sent:* Saturday, June 6, 2020 12:26:08 PM
> *To:* Christine Kunert <ckunert2 at gmail.com>
> *Cc:* Suzette Nelson <horsewmn42 at gmail.com>; Gerald Flakas <
> gerflak at aol.com>; lekooks at lekook.org <lekooks at lekook.org>; Fran B. <
> sandhillcrane at hotmail.com>; Bev B. <bevieb at centurytel.net>
> *Subject:* Re: [Lekooks] Atrocious situation at Fishbones in Delafield
>
> Seems like this a good start. We all know  that this is not the only
> establishment in our area that could use some training as to how to handle
> situations like this.  Good thing they weren’t bird watching.
>
> Tim
>
> On Jun 6, 2020, at 10:47 AM, Christine Kunert via Lekooks <
> lekooks at lekook.org> wrote:
>
> Thank you Susanne for bringing it to our attention.
>
> On Sat, Jun 6, 2020 at 9:43 AM Suzette Nelson via Lekooks <
> lekooks at lekook.org> wrote:
>
> UPDATE. Apology on Fishbones' website.
>
> Good morning friends. Thanks to all of you
> For your words and taking action. Some great suggestions here.
>
>  To those of you who asked for my friend's Facebook name, I don't think
> that will be necessary as the restaurant has received quite a lot of calls
> on this from people far and wide. (Just as an aside however, what I shared
> in the quotations on my first message was the direct post from my friend
> and what she asked people do was copy it and share it. She did not want to
> make it public from her own wall and I don't think that would have gone
> anywhere but – it doesn't matter because the restaurant has now posted an
> apology on their websites home page, and is apparently having a manager
> meet with the offended parties.
>
>   I'm sure its not representative of the owners' policies but a most
> unfortunate and ignorant
> Decision on the part of the manager. Asking the white people to move is
> what should have happened of course. I can understand being in a situation
> as a restaurant manager where you have to think fast to defuse a
> potentially confrontational situation amongst customers. This is why
> training is so critical. Nathan did not have the awareness or the skill
> set. So I really do hope that the restaurant follows through on their
> promise of training their staff.
>
>
> The restaurant issued an apology on their homepage of their website, and
> apparently is going to meet with the offended parties. That is a start.
> They have said that they are committed to better training of their staff as
> well.
>
> I think they are likely overwhelmed with calls about this right now and I
> believe that the point has been clearly made to them. They probably need to
> have manager Nathan on a full-time phone detail to handle all of the
> calls.!  It only takes a couple people sharing with committed friends to
> get an avalanche of response.
>
> Again thank you so much for your part in bringing awareness around this
> situation!
>
> Best,
> Suzette
>
> On Fri, Jun 5, 2020, 4:52 PM Fran B. <sandhillcrane at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> I just had a lengthy discussion with Nathan, the manager at Fishbones. I
> complemented him on the actions he is taking with his staff to make sure
> nothing like this happens again. Apparently the staff member felt that the
> white table was about to confront the table of two black and one white
> individuals. Asking the racially mixed table to move was an ill conceived
> solution.
> I shared the idea of Nathan and Jackie Valde spearheading a Delafield
> declaration of being a community that welcomes all. I also made it clear
> that the sort of incident that occurred at his restaurant could easily go
> viral in a matter of hours and deeply damage the reputation and bottom line
> of both Zins and Fishbones. I very much like Bev's suggestion of plaques
> on stores. I will share that with Jackie Valde. I encourage all of you to
> send me ideas.
> Thanks,
> Fran Bills
>
> Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
> Get Outlook for Android
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>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Lekooks <lekooks-bounces at lekook.org> on behalf of Bev B. via
> Lekooks <lekooks at lekook.org>
> *Sent:* Friday, June 5, 2020 4:33:46 PM
> *To:* Gerald Flakas <gerflak at aol.com>
> *Cc:* lekooks at lekook.org <lekooks at lekook.org>; horsewmn42 at gmail.com <
> horsewmn42 at gmail.com>
> *Subject:* Re: [Lekooks] Atrocious situation at Fishbones in Delafield
>
> Nice going, Gerry!
> The fact that Nathan is doing more than just apologize makes him sound
> truly contrite and possibly "woke".
> Bev
>
>
>
> At 03:24 PM 6/5/2020, Gerald Flakas via Lekooks wrote:
>
> Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
>          boundary="----=_Part_3469395_1631498311.1591388643113"
> Content-Length: 10265
>
> I just got off the phone with the Fishbones manager Nathan, to inquire
> about this situation.
> He admitted to me that he overreacted inappropriately and that what he did
> was a big mistake.
> I asked him what they are doing to correct the situation, and he told me
> they are bringing in diversity training for the staff, and he will be
> meeting in person in the next few minutes with the people he offended.
> He said he learned his lesson, and this won't happen again.
>
> I think we should accept his explanation as a painful lesson learned, and
> expect he will not do anything so hurtful and foolish again
> Redemption is possible; remember the "Amazing Grace words", "I once was
> lost, and now am found".
> We all make mistakes and hopefully learn from them.
> No "death penalty" for Fishbones and Zins from me, anyway (unless it
> happens again).
>
> Gerry Flakas
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Suzette Nelson via Lekooks <lekooks at lekook.org>
> To: lekooks <lekooks at lekook.org>
> Sent: Thu, Jun 4, 2020 10:17 pm
> Subject: [Lekooks] Atrocious situation at Fishbones in Delafield
>
> Hi friends. I want to share the following with you. A friend of mine who
> lives in Pewaukee posted this on her Facebook page today. I am copying and
> pasting it. Please please consider calling the management at Fishbones in
> Delafield and expressing your outrage at this situation.
> And please consider not patronizing this restaurant and letting them know
> that. Particularly if you live in Lake Country, which I'm guessing most of
> you do. Here is the copy of her message.
>
> "People of conscience, a friend of mine who is black has shared a
> troubling story with me. Her son and a couple friends (one black, the other
> white) were dining on the patio at an area restaurant yesterday, and like
> many of us, they were discussing the events of the day - George Floydâ€™s
> murder, the civil unrest we are seeing locally and across the globe, and
> all that goes with it. I am sad to report that they were asked to MOVE from
> their table to another area of the patio. Management initially pretended
> the move was necessary because of an incoming reservation, but that lie was
> exposed when one of the young men stepped out to the parking lot and called
> and asked about getting a reservation on the patio. Turns out the
> restaurant doesnâ€™t even take reservations for that area; itâ€™s first
> come, first served. No one else was asked to move.
>
> When the young men politely questioned the restaurantâ€™s decision, the
> manager told them they were moved at another patronâ€™s request and that,
> â€œAround these parts, things are just different.â€
>
> Are you kidding me? Black people talking about racism is so problematic
> for white ears that it has to be banished to an area where no one will hear
> it? No. If anyone should have been asked to move, it should have been the
> white pearl clutchers. This is a case of discrimination and marginalization
> of people of color and we need to let this restaurant know that their
> actions were unacceptable to us. I already made my phone call and believe
> you me, the manager (Nathan) knew exactly what I was taking about and
> thanked me for calling. I hope you will consider placing a call as well,
> especially if you are a white resident of Lake Country. Nothing changes
> till we make it change. This may feel small in the overall scheme of
> things, but micro-aggressions lead to aggressions, make no mistake.
>
> The restaurant is Fishbones in Delafield, and I will miss their Spicy
> Cajun Pasta and Red Beans and Rice dearly.
>
> 262-646-4696"
>
> My additional comment:
> I want so badly to find a way to either make this viral or stand in front
> of the restaurant with a sign that says "this restaurant asks people of
> color to move to the back of the room!" I am stunned. "Things are different
> in these parts"?!? Oh. My. God.
> Also....any violation of civil rights here??
>
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