Zion’s Dairy Queen Closed After Racist Spat

Zion Dairy Queen franchisee loses store after racist rant

A Dairy Queen restaurant in Zion, Illinois, was closed Friday after a young mother said the franchise owner called her and her children a racial slur. The racially charged dispute sparked calls for a local protest and boycott of the fast-food restaurant chain.

Deianeira Ford, 21, said the incident took place Wednesday when she asked the store on 21st Street, west of Sheridan Road, in Zion for a refund after a problem with her order. Responding to her, store owner James Crichton used the N-word, following which Ford’s daughter asked her what the racial slur meant.

On asking the owner his name, he first said it was “’Bill Clinton’ and then said, ‘Better yet, I’m Donald Trump,’ and told me to go back where I came from,” Ford reportedly said.

The terms of the franchise agreement termination were agreed to on Friday and were effective immediately, Dairy Queen spokesman Dean Peters told News-Sun, a local newspaper.

“The recent actions of this franchisee are inexcusable, reprehensible, unacceptable and do not represent the values of the Dairy Queen family, our employees, fans and other independent franchises around the world,” a statement by the company said. “We expect our franchisees and their employees to treat every single person who walks through their doors with the utmost dignity and respect. Nothing less is acceptable.”

The company’s statement came hours after Crichton issued an apology.

“I take full responsibility of my actions,” Crichton reportedly said in a statement released by the Dairy Queen spokesman. “As the owner of this restaurant, I should be a model for others. My actions were inexcusable and unacceptable.”

Clyde McLemore of Black Lives Matter in Lake County went to the Dairy Queen outlet to confront the owner, but left when asked to do so by the police, according to a report. A Black Lives Matter protest at the Dairy Queen was planned for Saturday but has now been converted to a “celebration.”

“This satisfies Black Lives Matter,” McLemore told the News-Sun. “We’re going to announce the news and go out and celebrate.”

Yeah!
That'll teach him!
...And all of his employees!
One guy uses a racial slur seemingly once and his business is closed, with everyone working there losing their job!
That's true justice!

I think Obama said something disparaging about mentally handicapped people and bowling once on Jay Leno, I think Trump said something bad about Mexicans...shut down the executive branch and all of its agencies!

So, BLM is happy with the closure of a Dairy Queen Lol... can Burger King be far behind?

What about White Castle?.. no not that one ;)

I would be happier if it was a Taco Bell....

While what the owner did is inexcusable, closing a place of husiness putting more ppl out of work somehow doesn't seem like a win win for anyone..

It's not.. if someone says something really stupid ( like this guy did).. you fire him and apologize to the person.. case closed. because what he said is not what your company ( as a whole) said.

you don't shut down the entire company

I agree I sure the he11 don't see anything to celebrate

thats what happens with a 'franchise'

hard to have one without a franchisee

its not,, it sucks

same is if he had been caught embezzling and was incarcerated,, as the franchisee,, breaking contract,, would impact all of the employees in that franchisees business,,,

shouldnt loose too much sleep over it though

Im told such 'low skilled' jobs are easy to find and easy to do

...and there's a KFC down the street.

The Dairy Queen company had every right to terminate a contract with a franchisee who didn't meet the company's standards.

By the way, the franchise didn't close because of BLM.

Yes. It's important, I think, in the antagonistic times we seem to be mired in, with so many Americans being encouraged by other Americans, to find unforgivable fault with each other, that we each work extra hard, to see the individual facts, through the propaganda that so many want us to eagerly blind ourselves.

In this case, the fact is that had it not been the OWNER who who failed herself as she did, had she been an employee there instead, the business would not have closed.

As msharmony said, this is no different than any other case, where a business person decided not to discipline themselves to deal with their customer base in an appropriate fashion, and thereby lost their business.

In this case, as with many such, the franchise agreement required the franchise owner to conduct the business according to the standards of the parent company. The owner did not do so.

It's certainly too bad for those who hope to make BLM a symbol of justice, that the people claiming to represent that loose group, are choosing to "pile on" in this fashion, but that is a separate issue for those people to deal with amongst themselves.

No need for all the rest of us here to copy the error,and pile on even more with our own condemnation agendas.

its a tricky business

just like boycotting a movie because of an actor, or their views
has a trickle down on the thousands of others involved in that movie

or boycotting a musical artist or any other entertainer,, has the effect of rarely impacting ONLY that individual,, but other 'innocents' as well


it is a point, perhaps, to have a balance of relief when wrongdoing is addressed and compassion for the 'innocent' bystanders who feel the after effects

its why I rarely rejoice over the death penalty or the killing or incarceration of humans,, I feel conscience of the undeserved consequences others will face because of it,,,


it helps when understanding and empathy accompanies consequence

I can understand how this guy lost his cool over an irate customer,but I don't understand why he didn't just go in back and spit on their food and then give it back like many food employees would do. I think this guy over reacted, but I also think this woman was out of line to make a big ordeal about it. I would guess from similar experiences that this woman pushed this guy to the breaking point and she probably doesn't deserve any respect for her actions.

Working in those type places is not easy as some may think. They are usually H.S. kids behind the counter doing their first job or housewife's/ single Mom's just trying to make ends meet.

I have seen people practically bring some of these folks to tears in the way they verbally ( and sometimes physically) abuse them.

For some reason some customers feel that o.k. to do.

ok, why did it close pray tell?

Because the franchisee violated the standards of the Dairy Queen company.

From abc7chicago.com: "A Dairy Queen restaurant in the north suburbs has been closed by corporate after a mother says the franchise owner called her and her children a racial slur."

Dairy Queen has standards? I guess they don't need the money.

smh

this type of behavior ^^ deserves some jail time
you should be ashamed of yourself for suggesting it as an alternative..

your one finger salute basket is ready sir..........enjoy