Professor to Study Red Onion Admission Policy

Officials of the Red Onion Restaurants have responded to charges of racial discrimination by hiring a California State University professor to “thoroughly review the dress code and admission policies” of the popular Southland disco chain.

The officials have vowed that any instances of blacks and Latinos being unfairly turned away from the establishments will not “happen again.”

Stephen Solomon, vice president of the Carson-based chain, said the 14 Red Onion restaurants began a policy last week of documenting in detail all incidents of patrons being refused admittance.

He said that of 15 people turned away at the Red Onion in Fullerton on Wednesday night for varying dress code violations, only one had been a member of a minority.

“We want anyone to come to our place; we just want them to be dressed properly,” Solomon said. “We don’t want to exclude anybody.”

Multiracial Protest

Despite the company’s announcement, a crowd of about 125 people demonstrated Thursday night at the Red Onion in Santa Ana. The multiracial group, which calls itself the Coalition Against Discrimination, was formed six weeks ago to protest the alleged discrimination by the restaurant-and-disco chain.

“We feel that after the media attention dies down, these people are going to start discriminating again,” said Greg McFall, a group leader who said he was a former Red Onion employee.

One black patron, Earl Campbell of Costa Mesa, said he had been turned down at the restaurant earlier for reasons varying from improper identification to not wearing a collared shirt. “I come here because it’s the closest place to home,” he said.

But another black patron, Howard Brown of Santa Ana, called the demonstration “absurd” and said he has never had a problem entering the establishment.

About 50 complaints of racial discrimination have been lodged against the chain in the last six months, and Dorothy Davis, district administrator of the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing, said her agency’s investigation will continue.

Application of Dress Code

The complainants alleged that Red Onion personnel applied their dress code unevenly to keep many members of minority groups from entering. Blacks and Latinos have also contended that they were denied admission because fault was unfairly found with their identification cards or driver licenses.

Stung by such criticism, Solomon and other company officials announced the hiring of Cal State Los Angeles professor Nat Trives as a consultant and met privately Thursday for two hours with Santa Ana City Manager Robert C. Bobb and the city’s Latino relations coordinator.

Solomon and Bobb subsequently issued a joint statement in which they pledged to work together to promote better relations between the Red Onion and its patrons.

“The policy of the Red Onion is that no acts of discrimination will be condoned under any circumstances,” the statement said.

Without admitting that the restaurant chain discriminates against minorities, Solomon did say, “We will not let this happen again,” adding that the allegations against the Red Onion will serve as “positive learning steps.”