Letter to Editor: Eritrean immigrant discriminated against by store employees at Silver Spring Potbelly's

On Sunday, November 2, 2014, at 1130 hours, my family and I decided to have lunch at Potbelly’s, located at 917 Ellsworth Dr. Silver Spring, MD 20910. Upon entering the Potbelly’s store my wife proceeded to order Tuna Salad sandwiches for our daughters and herself.

My wife, a non-native speaker of the English language, walked up to the counter and waited until it was time to place her order. When it was her turn, she told the Potbelly employee (Joanne St. Hilaire) she would like to order three Tuna Salad sandwiches. Ms. St. Hilaire and another Potbelly employee (Gena Danowski) immediately began mocking my wife’s accent repeating the following statement to Ms. Danowski “You want Tuna, Tuna, Tuna” in a condescending, intimidating demeanor. My wife observed the manager on duty (Ms. Rachael Wright) snicker as Ms. Hilaire and Ms. Danowski went back and forth reciting the statement, in my wife accent “You want Tuna, Tuna, Tuna” seeking to insult her inability to speak fluent English.

After becoming emotionally upset my wife ran over to me and informed me of what had occurred. At this time I asked to speak with the manager on duty (Ms. Rachael Wright) for the names of the employees who were intimidating my wife accent and English speaking inability. At this time, I observed Montgomery County Police officers walking by the Potbelly’s store, I walked outside to ask if they could come into the establishment so that we can proceed with filing a complaint of the incident. However, the police advised that we would need to file a complainant with Potbelly’s. I asked Ms. Wright for a receipt or some form of documentation confirming our visit at the Potbelly establishment. I was given four Potbelly’s coupons.

My wife is shocked, appalled and frankly in a state of disbelief that a well-known business establishment would hire people who have the gall to single out and participate in language discrimination due to my wife inability to speak fluent English. Why would a company employ people who seek to freely engage in discriminatory behavior to single out and attack an innocent customer who was only seeking to order Potbelly’s sandwiches for our children. Not only did this language discriminatory treatment directly impact my wife, but also our seven-year-old daughter who was hurt when my wife told her what occurred and why we were not welcomed at the Potbelly’s establishment. We immediately departed the store and went to Panera Bread. This experience harken back to memory the stories my parents told me as youth when they were not welcome in business establishment due to the color of their skin. Thank you Potbelly’s for providing my family with the most insulting and humiliating experience I have ever witness.