Customer tells Burger King manager: “Go back to Mexico”

The manager of a Burger King in Florida was told by a customer he should “go back to Mexico” if he wanted to speak in Spanish to an employee of the restaurant, according to local media reports.

The videotaped exchange, posted on social media, shows two women confronting the manager, Ricarado Castillo, at a Burger King in Eustis, about 40 miles north of Orlando.

“You’re in America, you should speak American English,” one of the women tells Castillo.

He replied: “Guess what, ma’am. I’m not Mexican. I’m not Mexican, but you’re being very prejudiced and I want you out of my restaurant right now.”

The woman continued, saying, “Yeah, yeah, go back to Mexico if you want to keep speaking Spanish, go back to your Mexican country, your state, your country.”

“You’re very ignorant and disrespectful. Have a great day and get out of my restaurant,” Castillo told the women, according to NBC affiliate WESH 2 News.

Customer Neyzha Borrero recording the July 6 exchange and posted it on a private Facebook group. Borrero told CNN that Castillo, who is of Puerto Rican descent, had been doing paperwork at a table near the women when one of his employees approached and spoke with him in Spanish.

After the worker left, the women told Castillo they wanted to complain, with the manager at first offering to give them credit or a free dessert, thinking they’d been unhappy with their food. Instead, they told him he should not speak Spanish in public because “we are in the USA.”

Burger King did not immediately return a request for comment from CBS MoneyWatch. But the fast-food chain told other media outlets: “There is no place for discrimination in our restaurants. We expect employees and guests to treat each other with respect. This incident took place at a franchised restaurant and the owner is looking into the matter.”