Cape Town - The waiter at the centre of a race row at an upmarket Cape Town restaurant has apologised for the incident.
The man responsible for describing patrons as “2 Blacks” at The Bungalow in Clifton said he never intended to offend anyone.
The restaurant is reportedly part-owned by Chris Coutroulis owner of Sandton nightclub Taboo and husband of former Miss South Africa Vanessa Carreira.
The waiter, Mike Dzange, has been suspended from his job, where he’s been working for eight years. Dzange, a Zimbabwean national, says he regrets the controversial incident that made national headlines.
“I’d like to apologise deep from my heart for the trouble I have caused; it happened without intention of hurting anybody,” he said. “I’d sincerely like to apologise to Mr Scott and partner.”
Masibulele Scott Maqethuka cried foul after getting his bill, which described him and a friend as “2 Blacks”.
He said when he questioned whether he was being racially profiled, the manager told him the description was simply a way for the waiter to identify patrons sitting at unnumbered tables.
But Maqethuka was offended, and tweeted a picture of the slip, accusing The Bungalow of racism.
Meanwhile, the ANC Youth League has demanded a meeting with The Bungalow by Friday, or it will act.
The league wants an apology and an explanation of the eatery’s system of using descriptions of patrons rather than table numbers. If not, members will fill up the restaurant wearing ANC T-shirts with the slogan “Stop Racism’’.