Restaurant to hold ‘White Appreciation Day’ in June

A Colorado barbecue restaurant is hosting a “White Appreciation Day” in June, but says the 10-percent discount offered to white visitors isn’t meant to cause any problems.

The Hispanic owners of Rubbin Buttz BBQ said the idea started as a joke, but is now planned for June 11. Edgar Antillon told 9News he and his co-owner, Miguel Jimenez, are hoping to open a discussion about race.

“We have a whole month for Black History Month,” Antillon said. “We have a whole month for Hispanic Heritage Month, so we thought the least we could do was offer one day to appreciate white Americans.”

Civil rights activists have spoken out against the plans, and there could be legal ramifications, as well, a spokeswoman with the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies told WNDU.

“If someone felt like they were being discriminated against, they could come to the civil rights division and file a complaint in our office and we would investigate that,” Jennifer McPherson said.

Antillon said the day isn’t meant to discriminate and that he would consider offering a discount to other races, but likely won’t.

Contact Stephanie Grimes at sgrimes@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @stephgrimes