A Black disabled veteran says a late-night outing with his wife to a Buffalo Wild Wings in the Washington, D.C. suburbs left him indelibly scarred after discovering a brazen racist epithet printed on his receipt and to-go bag.
Instead of seeing their name on the order, the couple claim it was labeled “n*gs,” an abbreviated form of the “N-word,” according to a $5 million-plus civil rights lawsuit obtained by The Independent.
The bigoted term was “especially painful” for 37-year-old Marc Loman, who “has been subjected to racial animus and harassment in the past, Loman’s complaint states. To that end, the experience served to reopen “deep emotional wounds,” according to the complaint, which describes it as reminiscent of the pervasive, brutalizing, and degrading racism that traumatized Mr. Loman while growing up in the Deep South.”
The employee who entered “n*gs” into the restaurant’s computerized point-of-sale system “knew, or should have known, that referring to the Lomans by a shortened version of a well-known racial slur was likely to result in emotional distress,” the complaint argues.
It says Loman “missed work and sought counseling” in the aftermath of what he endured at the restaurant.
Wife Natasha Loman, 48, is a co-plaintiff in the suit. The pair are accusing the chain of, among other things, intentional infliction of emotional distress.
In an email, one of the attorneys representing the Lomans said they didn’t have anything to add to the complaint as filed, which “contains the relevant information for our case.”
A Buffalo Wild Wings spokesperson did not respond on Friday to a request for comment.
The chain, known to some as BDubs, was founded in 1982 and now has more than 1,300 locations across the United States and numerous countries abroad, including India, Panama and Saudi Arabia. The sports-themed casual dining brand promises a “welcoming neighborhood atmosphere,” along with “21 mouth-watering signature sauces and seasonings.”
On November 2, 2024, the Lomans went out for a late-night bite at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Woodbridge, Virginia, according to their complaint. Initially filed last month in Prince William County Circuit Court and removed to federal court Thursday. It says they placed an order with the manager on duty, ate their food, and had the leftovers wrapped up to take home. (They were potato wedges, according to Natasha.)
It wasn’t until later that the pair noticed the word “n*gs” was printed on both the bag and receipt from their order, the complaint states.
Natasha immediately left a one-star Yelp review, writing, “It's 2024 and a manager at Buffalo Wild Wings store #280 Woodbridge VA did not ask for a name for take out order but has the audacity [to] put ‘@n*gs’ for our names.”
She also posted a video on TikTok describing the experience, remarking that the BWW manager had apparently “lost her mind.” The footage shows the receipt and bag, with “n*gs” unambiguously printed out on both.
Both Marc and Natasha reported the “clear racial slur and hate speech” to BWW corporate, as well, according to their complaint.
The following day, a Buffalo Wild Wings VP called the Lomans, and told them that an unnamed kitchen manager at the Woodbridge location “had intentionally placed the racial slur on their order,” the complaint goes on.
It says the employee had been fired as a result of the incident, according to the VP.
Inspire Brands, under whose corporate umbrella Buffalo Wild Wings operates, says it believes in diversity. Under the heading “Stronger Together,” the Inspire Brands website tells visitors, “Only by providing an inclusive work environment that elevates team members of all backgrounds can we ensure that we have the best people to deliver exceptional service to our guests, a positive working environment for our team members, and excellent results for our stakeholders.”
Still, allegations of discrimination at Buffalo Wild Wings locations have emerged previously. In 2019, two BWW employees in Illinois were fired after they asked a group of customers to move tables at the request of a white customer who didn’t “want Black people sitting near him.”
The year prior, the company offered free wings for a year to an unhoused man in Louisiana who found “For Homeless F***!” scrawled across the top of his receipt. BWW employees have also been subjected to ugly episodes by customers.
Earlier this year, a guest at a restaurant in Naperville, Illinois, reportedly wrote “Nope” on his credit card receipt instead of leaving a tip, and that the server should “go back to Africa.”
The Lomans are now seeking a $5 million judgment and $350,000 in punitive damages from Buffalo Wild Wings and parent entity, Blazin’ Wings, Inc., plus pre- and post-judgment interest, court costs, and attorney’s fees.
