Diners labeled 'Jew couple' at N.J. restaurant

August 18, 2005


LOCH ARBOUR, N.J. -- The bill was a shocker, and not because of the amount.

After eating at a Jersey shore restaurant, Elliott Stein and his girlfriend were handed a bill that said ''Jew Couple'' near the bottom, as a table identifier used by the waitstaff. The description also turned up on Stein's credit card statement weeks later.

''My grandfather went through all that in old-school Europe,'' Stein, a New Yorker and a regular at the restaurant, told the New York Post. ''But that happened more than 50 years ago. You don't expect it to happen in 2005.''

The New Jersey attorney general's office said Wednesday it is investigating the July incident at Parkhill's Waterfront Grill.

The server, identified on the check only as Karina, is no longer working at the restaurant, general manager Malia Wells said Wednesday.

''We don't run our establishment like that,'' Wells said. ''It was definitely poor judgment on her part.''

Stephen Reid, a spokesman for the restaurant, said it had been the waitstaff's practice to use descriptions of diners to identify them on checks. AP

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-bill18.html

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Seems kind of strange that a restaurant would use a description of a person at all to identify where the check goes. Most restaurants use table numbering.

On the story, I definitely think what the restaurant did was in poor taste, but comparing having "Jew couple" on a restaurant ticket to what happened to Jewish people 50 years ago in Europe (or a bit longer really) is a stretch, imo.

Definetly a stretch, but the server still diserved to be fired. People tend to get over offended by just about everything. If it happened to me, I probably would have complained to management and left it at that, but going to the media about it just makes yourself out to be a victim, and a publicity whore.

Seriously. What's the big deal? Are they catholic?

Can you really identify a Jewish person by looking at them? There's so many better ways to identify a table, this couldn't possibly be correct unless the server was a rabid anti-semite.

Don't expect it to happen?!! What world has this guy been living in his entire life? What does he mean by not expecting that to happen in 2005? I mean come on fella, wake up and experience the real world. It happens every day, every minute, every second.

Maybe in your neck of the woods, but not in New Jersey.

It's not very offensive, but still inappropriate. And why the hell did it end up on the credit card statement?

so if they were actually jewish, whats the problem? it wasnt "bignosed cheap skates" or some other stereotypical derogatory term. it was a simple, albeit inappropriate, description.

Hey ass hole, my grand-parents went through that during the old skool!

I'm not actually talking about that this characterization ended up on a bill. It's the reaction this guy gives about racism, anti-semitism, prejudice, etc. etc. He seems he doesn't know we live in a racist and prejudicial nation. How can he not expect people to have these kind of views? And yes, even in 2005? There were raceist and anit-semitics back in his grandfathers days and they are still around today. The word nigger is spewed on t.v. and radio all day long. Or I hear cracker this or cracker that. Trust me, it happens in your "neck of the woods" also.

Big guy on table 8
Mustache guy on table 4
Bald dude on table 19 (your pizza is ready)

not right, but descripters are used all the time at restraunts.

Identifying someone by ethnicity or racial make up is not at all racist, unless its being used in a derogatory manner.

What if it was a fat family with their kids running all over the restaurant and the reciept said: "Christian Family" I don't think they'd give a shit

Marco: "Well, Debbie thinks this is all about her biological clock, and I--"

Stormy: "Did she stop screaming long enough to tell you that?"

Marco: "Huh? Oh, no-no-no-no-no-no. The other Debbie. Debbie the teacher?"

Stormy: "Oh. You mean... (whisper) Black Debbie."

Sparks: "Woah woah woah woah. Why is she 'Black' Debbie?"

Stormy: "No, not in a bad way, its just a way to tell them apart because she's... (whisper) black."

Sparks: "So why don't you call her Debbie, and the other one... (whisper) white Debbie."

Stormy: "White Debbie? Hahaha, that's stupid! I know she's white!"

That's why I think this is a mistake. Some abbreviation for something else that inadvertantly spells out j-e-w. You know, like an e-mail abbreviation that mistakently ends up being iman.ass@cisqo.com.

I don't see how it was really RACIST, though. I mean, if they're jewish, and they were called jewish - so what? I mean, are they ashamed of their religion? People identify me as the 'short girl' all the time, I don't get offended. They weren't called "cheap jew couple", "ugly jew couple" or anything. I **AM** short. They ARE jewish. Sure, it's a weird way to identify a table, and the 'we dont conduct buisness like that' line is bullshit, if it showed up that way on the credit card. But PAH LEEZE.

They weren't treated badly, they weren't denied service, they just very clearly fit into an easily identifiable stereotype. That's not the waitstaff's problem. Don't pretend you don't all have an ldea in your head of what the couple may have looked, acted or sounded like. If they had been labled "Black couple" , I doubt you'd be picturing myself and my irish/english boyfriend.

It's only wrong BECAUSE people get offended. It's not derogatory to call something like it is.Are we to assume now that being Jewish is a bad thing, since these people are obviously so ashamed if it? What a stupid thing to be victimized about.

Yes, common sense would have prevented this mess.

Definitely seems strange that the diner has no table number system.

As for the fellow harking back to what happened to the Jews 50 years ago, this isn't the first time such a trivial event has triggered this remark. I've heard similar statements from other Jewish people a few times, in person or in the media, though of course these are very much in the minority.

You were their server, weren't you?

your code is showing B.

and dont take it to heart when people call you "short girl".

Yeah, and they were damn rotten tippers.