Another shop owner is in hot water for mistreating black people.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports a group of teenagers entered Cornology in Emeryville, California, owned by Mark Stone, and were served a racist tirade instead of bougie popcorn. According to eyewitness Aisha Weber, Stone threw up his hands and shouted “get out of here, n**gers.” He reportedly repeated the slur several times.
One of the witnesses, Fay Eastman-Adams, took a picture of Stone and posted her account of the incident on her Facebook page. Eastman-Adams said Stone kicked the teens out of the shop and yelled “don’t come back here N**GERS!" She said she and another witness filed a formal complaint against Stone.
Eastman-Adams told the San Francisco Chronicle she tried to turn the moment into a lesson, but Stone wasn’t receptive.
“Those types of moments shape their world for the rest of their life,” she said. “I thought I could rationalize it and explain that to him, but nope. He really didn’t understand why he shouldn’t have said what he said.”
Eastman-Adams’ post went viral, and when Stone was confronted about his behavior, he couldn’t keep his stories straight.
Witnesses said there were 10 teenagers in the group, but Stone bumped it up to 25. Additionally, he claimed they stole popcorn, soda and change out of a tip jar, another claim Eastman-Adams refuted.
“I didn’t see those kids running out with bags of popcorn. He just didn’t want them in the store,” she said.
Stone issued an apology for the incident and blamed it on an unidentified employee.
“Regretfully, you can’t take back something that was in the heat of the moment. We’re very sorry that was the result of what happened,” said Stone. “Unfortunately, some employees were sick over the weekend, so there was only one person in the store. It startled him. He regrets it terribly. It’s not who he is or who we are.”
Stone was that employee, and he issued another apology to Eater SF and called the occurrence a robbery.
“I am deeply sorry for what I did in the heat of a very tense moment during a robbery on Sunday,” Stone said. “I reacted improperly during a very tense moment. I have sought forgiveness with GOD, Family and friends.”
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, business has slowed at Cornology, and the company’s social media pages have either been disabled or swarmed with negative reviews. Emeryville Mayor John Bauters thanked Weber and Eastman-Adams for their efforts and encouraged everyone, regardless of race, to call out racism.
“The responsibility to call out racism and hold others accountable cannot and should not be the sole responsibility of people of color,” Bauters said. “This an obligation we share as a society.”
