Black diner posts about ‘no hoodies’ incident at Morton’s steakhouse in Baltimore; Restaurant says allegations are ‘without merit’

Dr. Max Jordan Nguemeni and his aunt simply wanted to enjoy dinner at Morton’s The Steakhouse in downtown Baltimore after he had made a presentation at Johns Hopkins Hospital last Friday. Nguemeni was visiting from Boston, where he’s a resident at Brigham & Women’s Hospital.

But Nguemeni, who is Black, said the experience was marred when Morton’s staff told him and another customer of color that the restaurant does not allow hoodies. Feet away, a white customer dined while wearing a hoodie.

Nguemeni tweeted on Friday, Dec. 15, about what appeared to be inconsistent enforcement of dress code policy by Morton’s staff.

At @Mortons in Baltimore. I had a hooded jacket on (Balenciaga!) & was told they don’t allow “hoodies” in here. They also told this Brown man next to us the same. I took it off. But here’s a White man in a hoodie enjoying his dinner in peace. I left his face out of respect. Smh pic.twitter.com/ur6Pghfo3Q — Max Jordan Nguemeni (@MaxJordan_N) December 16, 2023

He spoke to Baltimore Fishbowl by phone to give more detail about his and his aunt’s experience.

“We walked in, we asked for a table for two and asked to be seated, and as that was progressing, they said, ‘Oh, yeah. We have a no hoodies policy,’” Nguemeni said. “I said, ‘Well, this is not a hoodie. It’s a jacket that has a hood.’ It’s not as if I was wearing a hoodie over my head or anything. Again, it’s a jacket. I was always planning to take my jacket off once I sat down.”

Nguemeni said the man standing next to the hostess, whose position with the restaurant he didn’t know, told him that any apparel with a hood was not allowed.

“I said, ‘Okay, I guess I hope graphic tee shirts aren’t also bad, then.’ And I say that specifically because I know sometimes establishments have these random made-up rules that are really racialized,” Nguemeni said. “That’s why I said something about graphic tee shirts. But in any case, we sat down, and we had dinner.”

After they sat down, they noticed the same Morton’s employees telling the diners at the table next to them, who were brown skinned according to his tweet, the same message about hoodies not being permitted. Nguemeni did not see what they were wearing, however.

“At some point during dinner I noticed someone not at all far from us had a hoodie. This white man, who you’ve seen me post a picture of on Twitter. I said, ‘Wait a minute, that guy has a hoodie over there, what’s going on?’” Nguemeni said.

At that point his aunt approached the hostess, and asked why the white diner wasn’t asked to remove his hoodie. She told his aunt that that diner was sitting at a table in what was considered the bar area.

“She explained to my aunt that they define the restaurant area [as] anywhere with a carpet, or with the carpeted floor,” Nguemeni said. “To me, that’s kind of made up. The bar is the bar where you can sit at the bar, and the person, this family was at a table on this uncarpeted area.”

I just want to have dinner and not deal with the indignities of being Black in this country. Can’t escape it. Dr. Max Jordan Nguemeni, customer at Morton’s The Steakhouse

Under Morton’s FAQs section, the policy regarding attire states, in part, “We do not allow beachwear, gym attire including sweatpants, sweatshirts or hoodies. Athletic apparel, jerseys, hats, beanies, bandanas, ball caps, oversized or baggy clothing, tank tops, and sleeveless shirts are prohibited. No excessively revealing clothing will be allowed.”

The website does not specify dress codes for different areas of the business.

When reached for comment on Wednesday, Dec. 20, Morton’s general manager Patrick McCormick told Baltimore Fishbowl that Landry’s, Morton’s parent company, is looking into the incident and is “actively involved in handling it.”

McCormick said, “Absolutely, they don’t take that stuff very lightly at all.”

On Thursday, Dec. 21, Baltimore Fishbowl received the following statement from Morton’s:

We have investigated these allegations and have found them to be without merit.  The customer wearing the hoodie in the photo was seated in the bar area, where the dress code is slightly more relaxed. Upon arrival, we politely offered the guest to sit in the bar area with his hoodie, he declined and stated he was aware of the dress code policy and chose to remove his hoodie to dine in the main restaurant.  We have a very diverse staff that treats all guests with pure professionalism, and together, we stand behind our dress code.  We apologize if there was any confusion as to the dress code policy in the dining room vs. bar area.  Scott Crain, SVP & COO, Morton’s The Steakhouse

But Nguemeni said Morton’s staff did not offer to seat him and his aunt in the bar area.

When Nguemeni’s aunt asked the hostess why she didn’t offer to have them sit in the uncarpeted area if that is where people with hoodies are permitted to sit.

“She [the hostess] said I didn’t give her the opportunity to offer that, because I guess, I don’t know, because I protested a bit,” Nguemeni said. “But my protest in itself actually was the opportunity to offer me another area, right? If I act as if I don’t want to take it off, then you should say, ‘Well, we have this other area over there if you don’t want to take it off,’ as opposed to insisting that it’s your policy. [Unless] that is, of course, a post hoc made-up excuse.”

Nguemeni’s aunt told the hostess the restaurant should apply the rules equally, and the hostess told her to take it up with Landry’s.

Nguemeni’s experience at Morton’s is reminiscent of a similar incident in 2020 at Ouzo Bay, owned by Atlas Restaurant Group. There, Ouzo Bay staff denied service to a Black woman and her son because her son was dressed in athletic apparel, despite video showing a white child dining in similar attire.

Of his experience at Morton’s, Nguemeni said he just wants to be able to eat a meal with family without challenges.

“It was as banal as, Oh, I just want to have dinner and not deal with the indignities of being Black in this country,” Nguemeni said. “Can’t escape it.”

Author’s Note: On Thursday, after this article was published, Nguemeni tweeted a photo of the hooded jacket he wore last weekend. The photo was not taken that night, nor was it of the outfit he wore to Morton’s, but the jacket is the one he wore that the restaurant’s staff told him was not allowed.

The other thing that annoys me about this @Mortons saga is… it’s winter. A lot of cold weather gear have hoods. Bc it’s cold. Some fancy wool coats have hoods. To pretend like I was wearing a “hoodie” to justify the staff’s racist knee jerk reaction is too funny. The jacket 👇🏾 https://t.co/BB3CmUO6Qn pic.twitter.com/zb7uRow6r9 — Max Jordan Nguemeni (@MaxJordan_N) December 22, 2023