An El Paso restaurant received a fair share of backlash online after a photo of a table message about staffing began spreading on social media.
Corralito Steak House at the Doniphan location claims the business is experiencing a staff shortage and asks guests to practice patience in waiting for service so they decided to put the signage on the table. But folks online criticized how the restaurant worded its message to patrons.
The controversial signage also blamed the government for making it hard for them to serve customers food as if the government hadn’t offered them help in the form of the Paycheck Protection Program, which gave the business thousands of dollars to keep employees on the books.
Here’s what the sign says:
“Sadly, due to government handouts, no one wants to work anymore. Therefore, we are short staffed. Please be patient with the staff that did choose to come to work today and remember to tip your server. They chose to show up to serve you.”
The local station, KTSM 9 News has reached out to ask the restaurant to comment on the reaction from the community. Phone calls have been made to the owner of the business directly. However, the restaurant has remained silent in the hopes that everything would blow over and people would stop noticing their insulting message to customers.
According to the outlet, some online users pointed out that the business and its related entities received over $1 million in federal assistance from the Paycheck Protection Program that provided support to establishments throughout the U.S. Others called on the business to provide more pay to employees.
More from AWM:
Veronica Frescas was the person who first noticed the offensive sign and decided to do something about it. According to a June report by KTSM, Frescas snapped a photo of the sign and shared it on social media so people would understand that the steak house was operated by hypocrites.
“I understand a lot of us are frustrated, but there could’ve been a better way to say something,” said Frescas. “We’re still all in this together, and, for something like that, it didn’t seem like it was very El Paso strong.”
Commenters found it insulting that the restaurant was willing to accept government handouts when it benefits them – but criticize others for doing the same. Other people suggested that the restaurant pay their employees a living wage rather than have the hard-working servers rely on tips to make ends meet in their lives.
Business people in Texas understand that restaurants like this steak house are struggling to keep up with nationwide chains. However, Leo Duran of the Texas Restaurant Association believes that employers need to raise wages to remain competitive.
“If you’re going to survive, you’ve got to compete, and wages are really the baseline of what employees are interested in,” said Duran, president-elect of the Texas Restaurant Association. “Just trying to shake off this pandemic and realize that we’re going out of it; let’s get back on our feet and get back to work.”
The restaurant has not yet released a statement in response to the viral sign – but we will be sure to update this story as soon as they do. In the meantime, let us know what you think about this sign and the Corralito Steak House’s decision to post it in the comments below.
Watch the video below for more details:
