All 18-year-old Sadie Elledge wanted was to be a good waitress for Jess' Lunch in downton Harrisonburg, Virginia. But on Monday, things got difficult for the hardworking teen when two people entered the diner and refused to talk to her.
Elledge told WHSV that the man and woman seated at the counter looked uncomfortable, but she couldn't understand why. "They wouldn't talk to me," Elledge said. "They would just nod their heads."
Elledge served their meals and they ate it. She then saw the woman sign the bill, but she didn't see the rest of the receipt until two hours later. On the tip line, Elledge received quite a shock — the woman didn't leave any money and instead wrote a scathing message: "We only tip citizens."
"It shouldn't even matter, I just feel like it's rude and disrespectful. I've never met, I've never done anything to them," said Elledge, who is of Mexican and Honduran descent but born in the U.S.
Angeliki Floros, Elledge's boss and the owner of Jess' Lunch, has her employee's back. She said the entire act of discrimination was caught on the restaurant's surveillance camera, and the two customers are no longer welcome at her establishment.
"Coward is the word to describe what they did. I have worse words to use. But let's go with coward," Floros said. "I would like for them to not come here unless they regret what they did."
Even the diner's regulars were shocked by what happened, and they made an effort to support Elledge. Local residents chipped in to cover her tip on Thursday, and Elledge was touched by the gesture.
Still, the teenager said she has decided to "be the better person" and serve the couple again should they choose to come back.
"It makes me the stronger person to not let these things bother me because I know I'm a good person. I know that," she said.
