Video: Muslim Family Called 'Terrorists' At Applebees In Audubon

AUDUBON, PA — For local resident Anwar Wright, the evening of Dec. 30, 2019 was set aside for a relaxing dinner with his wife and children at the Applebee's on Trooper Road in Audubon.

It turned out to be anything but, ending with bigotry, threats, and an alarming Islamophobic confrontation right before his family's eyes. What's more, Wright says the manager failed to act on the situation, drawing comparisons to a recent incident in New Jersey where an Applebee's manager was fired for kicking out a patron making hateful comments about Islam.

Part of the exchange which was captured on video shows a man who appears to be angered about something confronting Wright, who is filming.

"You're a f***ing terrorist, that's what you are," the man says, as Wright films.

"Why's that, because I'm wearing Muslim garb?"

"Because you won't turn the phone off."

The man then storms off and can be heard yelling in the background as he leaves the restaurant. In the video, the manager approaches Wright and says "he's gone," but Wright says shortly before that, the manager had asked Wright and his family to leave, too.

"This is is ridiculous," Wright says.

Wright told Patch that about 20 minutes before the video, the man called Wright over to his table and asked him to have a drink.

Wright said that he told the man he was a Muslim and that he didn't drink, politely declining and returning to his table. But the man persisted.

"In America we have drinks with our friends," the man said.

"Well, we also have dinner with our family," Wright said he told him.

Wright returned to dinner with his family, but about 20 minutes later the man returned. Wright said that the man said his wife was wearing a "f***ing mask," and said that he was a patriot and Wright and his family were terrorists.

That's when the manager came up and asked both Wright and his family and the man to leave.

Although Wright again returned to dinner afterwards, when he was leaving, the man was waiting outside. Wright said that he was able to get his family safely to the car and they left without further incident.

In a statement, Jeff Warden, president and CEO of the Rose Group, an Applebees franchisee, said that the manager took action.

“We have zero tolerance for racism or bigotry of any kind in our restaurants and want all to feel welcome," Warden said in an email to Patch. "The individual causing the disruption in the video was asked to leave by restaurant management once they were made aware of the incident."

It's not the first incident involving Islamophobia at an Applebees in the region. Amanda Breaud, the 25-year-old manager of the Applebees in Middletown, New Jersey, was fired for kicking out a guest who went on a rant that included comments like "Muslim people are disgusting." She's now filing a lawsuit.