A Denver woman said that she believes the fact she is Muslim led to a tense interaction and a lack of service at a Boulder Cantina Laredo, but the restaurant says it was simply an unfortunate misunderstanding.
Halima Gul was in Boulder on Sunday with her two daughters — one of whom goes to the University of Colorado — when they decided to stop in for lunch at Cantina Laredo.
Gul, who moved to the United States from Afghanistan when she was 7, said they were seated by a waiter who asked where she was from. Gul has called Denver home for almost 20 years, so she told the server they were from Colorado.
“I said, ‘I’m from here,'” she said. “That should have been enough. He should have left it at that.”
Instead, Gul said the man pressed her on where she was “really” from. When she told him Afghanistan, he asked her where in Afghanistan, as he had spent five years there in the military. Gul said the man then showed her a tattoo of the Israeli flag on one arm and the Star of David on the other arm and began to talk about how he felt Jewish people were treated in Muslim countries.
She said the waiter took drink and appetizer orders and although he brought them out, he never returned to take their meal order or check to see if they needed anything else.
Restaurant management said Gul wasn’t denied service. “We serve all customers without regard to race or creed or color or national identity. All we ask is you love our food, love our drinks and be kind. We expect that of our staff as well.”
Read the full story
