A Maryland man, Marquise Vanzego, is accusing a local Chick-fil-A of racial discrimination after receiving his to-go order labeled with the name “Monkeys.” The incident occurred on August 23 at the LaPlata location, where Vanzego, who is Black, was stunned to hear an employee call out the offensive name instead of his own.

Describing the moment to *TODAY*, Vanzego said, “Your heart has that little sting in it, that’s what it felt like.” He explained how the incident triggered thoughts of racial profiling stories he’s seen on the news.

Vanzego immediately spoke with the on-duty manager, who apologized and offered a refund. However, Vanzego was not satisfied with the response. He recorded a video of his interaction with the manager, which he later shared on Instagram, expressing his intent to write a letter to Chick-fil-A’s corporate office about the incident. Vanzego also attempted to confront the drive-thru employee but was prevented from doing so by the manager.

The incident has sparked a debate online, with some commenters suggesting that the drive-thru intercom system may have caused the offensive misprint. However, Vanzego, who said he placed his order directly with a “young white male” employee outside the store, rejected this explanation.

John Flatley, the owner of the independently franchised Chick-fil-A, later informed Vanzego that the employee responsible for the incident would not be terminated due to their age—under 18. The employee reportedly wrote down the name they thought they heard.

Chick-fil-A’s corporate marketing department responded to the situation, stating, “This Chick-fil-A is independently franchised and operated. The franchisee of this restaurant has apologized to the guest. However, this experience does not meet our expectations and is unacceptable.”

Vanzego hopes that the employee involved will learn from this experience and become more “socially aware.” He emphasized the importance of accountability, noting that even though the employee is young, there should still be consequences for such actions.

“I understand, he’s a young man, he’s 17, he’s still learning. But he also needs to know that there are consequences when you do things like that,” Vanzego concluded.

Credit: New York Post