Racial tensions mount in South Africa after boycott by whites of restaurant chain after it sided with a black woman who rowed with a white man over the behaviour of her children
- Racial tensions are mounting in South Africa as whites continue to boycott Spur
- The boycott follows a ‘racist row’ between a black woman and white man in 2017
- The argument, caught on tape, was over the behavior of the woman’s children
- Spurs apologised to the woman for ‘not sufficiently assisting’ her
- While the man was banned for his ‘aggressive’ and ‘unacceptable’ actions
Racial tensions are mounting in South Africa as whites continue to boycott a popular restaurant chain following a ‘racist row’ between two customers from two years ago.
Spur Steak Ranches was once prominent family dining chain with an western American-themed dotted around the country that began serving customers since 1967 and even adapted to the social changes following apartheid.
Keith van Eeden, a former customer of Spur for three decades, told The New York Times: ‘Spur is only for blacks now. They don’t want the whites,’
The ‘racist row’ between a white man and a black woman back in 2017 at the Johannesburg franchise made an impact on customer numbers
Racial tensions are mounting in South Africa as whites continue to boycott a popular restaurant chain Spurs Steak Ranches (pictured) following a ‘racist row’ between two customers from two years ago
Shocking footage captured an aggressive, foul-mouthed argument between two parents in front of small children at the restaurant.
The mother leapt to her child’s defence and branded the man a ‘coward’, later in the video the man lifts up the table and shakes it, sending cutlery crashing to the floor.
Spur issued an apology to the woman for ‘not sufficiently assisting’ her while the man was banned for his ‘aggressive manner’ and ‘unacceptable’ actions.
The ban imposed on the man was seen outraged the white community who demanded that both customers should have been banned.
Shocking footage from 2017 captured an aggressive, foul-mouthed argument between a black woman who rowed with a white man over the behaviour of her children
Johan Pienaar, a brand expert who was previously a consultant for Spur on managing the boycott, told the publication that no one in the country thought it would be as effective as it is.
Six months following the protest, the chain’s sales dropped by more than nine per cent and owners of franchises in predominantly white suburbs began to loose money and sell off their restaurants.
The company’s chief operating officer, Mark Farrelly, said in an interview during the height of the boycott that they were facing right-wing backlash’.
In response, the leader Solidarity, an influential white-minority trade union, wrote in an open letter: ‘This is about a community that feels estranged in the country. Now, they feel strange in their favorite restaurant as well.’
Six months following the protest, the chain’s sales dropped by more than nine per cent and owners of franchises in predominantly white suburbs began to loose money and sell off their restaurants
But amid all the tension around the boycott some diners don’t feel any racial tension
Despite all the furor around the boycott, customer Ms. Anelisa Nqevu said she didn’t feel any racial tension at the restaurant.
‘Everyone is welcome there now — black or white,’ she said.