Large Louisiana men claim restaurant banned them for eating too much

[Catty1]

I figure, if bars can cut off people who drink too much....

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http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/080103/K010302AU.html

Large Louisiana men claim restaurant banned them for eating too much
Published: Thursday, January 3, 2008 | 9:22 AM ET
Canadian Press: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUMA, La. - Gluttony has its limits.

At least that appears to be the case at a Louisiana restaurant that had enough of two large men pigging out at its expense.

Ricky Labit, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound disabled offshore worker, says the Manchuria Restaurant in Houma first charged him double for his trips to the buffet.

Then it banned him and a relative because of how much they consumed during their visits.

Labit described himself as a regular at the restaurant, eating there as often as three times a week.

But on his most recent visit, he said a waitress gave him and his wife's cousin, Michael Borrelli, a bill for $46.40, roughly double the buffet price for two adults.

"She says: 'Y'all fat, and y'all eat too much,"' Labit said.

Labit and Borrelli said they felt discriminated against because of their size.

"I was stunned that somebody would say something like that," Borrelli said. "I ain't that fat, I only weigh 277."

Accountant Thomas Campo, who spoke for the restaurant because the owner's English is limited, said the men were charged an extra $10 each Dec. 21 because they made a habit of dining exclusively on the more expensive seafood dishes, including crab legs and frog legs.

"We have a lot of big people there," Campo said. "We don't discriminate."

The argument over the bill grew heated, and police were called. The police report states that the disagreement was settled when the restaurant said the bill was a mistake and, to appease Labit, the meal was complimentary.

Labit said he insisted on paying but was told not to come back.

He also complained that when seafood on the buffet line runs out, the restaurant only grudgingly cooks more.

Campo said the proprietress tries to reduce wasting quality food.

© The Canadian Press, 2008

[Jessika]

Well......... ok, I can kind of see the restaurant's reasoning. But if they aren't wasting the food, if they're honestly eating it all, then what's the harm? If the restaurant wants to prohibit people from eating "too much", then maybe they should put a limit on how many pounds of food or plates from the bar they get and charge on that versus a one-time fee? If this makes sense.

Kind of like Golden Corral has take-out you can get and it goes by the pound.

[Catty1]

Jessika - I'd agree, except for this one part:

Accountant Thomas Campo, who spoke for the restaurant because the owner's English is limited, said the men were charged an extra $10 each Dec. 21 because they made a habit of dining exclusively on the more expensive seafood dishes, including crab legs and frog legs.

"We have a lot of big people there," Campo said. "We don't discriminate."

[Medusa]

I'm not sure how I feel about this. When my son was in college, he and his friend frequently visited a buffet. They were on a college budget and they were strapping young, strong men who could put it away. One day the manager asked them to leave, not because they were rowdy or impolite or even gluttonous, just because, in the manager's words, "you boys cost me too much money". I found it funny at the time but later it dawned on me that it's an "all you can eat" buffet restaurant so what was the problem? My son has hardly ever eaten fast food, he eats really healthy, always has, even in high school and college, and he felt that the buffet was the healthiest way to go on his budget. I think if these men in this article actually prevented other customers from getting to the food, then the manager would have a legitimate gripe.

[moosmom]

If you don't want customers eating "all they can eat" then don't make it an 'ALL YOU CAN EAT' restaurant. It's that's simple.

[Medusa]

If you don't want customers eating "all they can eat" then don't make it an 'ALL YOU CAN EAT' restaurant. It's that's simple.

Exactly. In the case of my son and his friend, they were both as thin as reeds and still are. I'm not sure why they advertise "all you can eat" if indeed they don't mean it.

[joycenalex]

catty, bars cut people off because they can be sued for the accidents after drinking. how could one restaurant be sued for the results of food addiction? it is LEGAL to discriminate against people because they are fat in the US. fatness & body size are not a protected category by the federal government,{ side note- protected categories are, ancestry, national origin, color, race, religion, sex (title 7) age (ADEA) and disability(ADA).} state protected categories vary widely, but none that i could find for Louisiana were on weight or body size. (i didn't spend much time on that search, so i might be proved wrong).
it's gonna be interesting to see how this one plays out: the owners are selling an all you can eat buffet; this man didn't need to make it a personal challenge event. the owners, having the knowledge that the man ate there so regularly, might have pulled the seafood on his "days/times" so that their financial loss from him didn't occur. the owners are gonna have some difficulty on this, they got more , legally/socially to lose then the man does.(yes i went for the pun)