Slur use sparks firing, backlash

Aviation restaurant receipt goes viral over racial epithet

A Duncansville restaurant employee's job was terminated after printing a racial slur on a customer's receipt late last week, drawing backlash to the establishment after a picture of the receipt went viral on social media.

The customer posted about the incident on Facebook on May 18, saying that she had picked up a meal from the Aviation Inn. When she later checked the receipt, she saw it had "(n-word) chik" printed on it in red letters.

"I know that I ordered blackened chicken, but ironically I'm a woman of color," the customer wrote in a Facebook post.

The customer said she called the restaurant to tell the owner, who apologized.

President of the Blair County Chapter of the NAACP Andrae Holsey said Tuesday the incident was "absolutely appalling."

"The level of comfort this employee felt is a reflection of broader attitudes in the community and that workplace," Holsey said.

Holsey said that the NAACP is in the process of contacting all parties involved in the incident, including the owners of the Aviation Inn, and urged people not to take personal violent action against them.

"The NAACP is conducting an investigation of this incident in accordance with public interest," Holsey said.

The Aviation Inn owner Allen Butterbaugh posted to the restaurant's Facebook page on May 18, apologizing "for the inappropriate language that was used on an order sent to our kitchen today."

The post said that the employee had been "reprimanded for this behavior" and that it was their hope "that forgiveness can still be found in our society today, as we all work together in our communities to stop hate of any kind."

Comments on the apology post were limited. It had three comments, 15 shares and 143 reactions.

Since creating it, the customer's Facebook post, which includes a photo of the receipt, has been shared 247 times, has 219 reactions and 57 comments. It was then uploaded to the subreddit r/Pennsylvania on the website Reddit, receiving 1,600 upvotes and 332 comments.

Butterbaugh confirmed Tuesday in a phone call that the employee no longer works at the Aviation Inn. He said that he did not include that in his apology because he didn't want to put private business matters on Facebook.

"We found it equally appalling," Butterbaugh said of the incident. "We are not like that. We have been in Duncansville for over 10 years, and I've worked against this kind of racism. I've been open to everyone here."

Since the incident, Butterbaugh said he has been called racist, has had people threatening to mess up the restaurant and has been getting harassing phone calls.

"It's crazy now that I'm in the middle of this," Butterbaugh said. "We don't condone it. However, the hate that's been spilled toward me has been crazy. I think I speak for myself and my family and everyone who works here that we don't condone this and everyone is welcome here."