u/Embarrassed_Ad1236

Had a really uncomfortable experience at brunch at The Commerce Inn in the West Village this weekend that honestly felt discriminatory.

I'm an Indian woman. I walked in to ask for a table and the host told me there were ZERO spots left and that the waitlist for brunch was completely CLOSED for the day.

But while I was standing there, I watched two white families/groups before and after me get seated immediately, and I overheard other people being added to the waitlist.

Then I asked my white husband walk in separately about five to ten minutes later and he was seated at a table for two instantly (he wasn't with me the first time).

When I came over to join him, staff acted weird about it and basically tried to stop me from sitting there until it became obvious we were together.

We confronted to host and asked why I, five minutes earlier, was denied the opportunity to even add my name to the waitlist, whereas he was able to sit immediately. We were told that there were "so many cancellations" in those five minutes and that the host "has a weird way of managing the waitlist" (???)

We ended up leaving because the whole thing felt gross and uncomfortable.

Maybe there's some explanation, but the difference in treatment was hard to ignore.

Curious if anyone else has had a similar experience at the Commerce Inn?

Also posted in r/FoodNYC

P.S: Just sharing my personal experience. I obviously can’t know anyone’s intent, and I genuinely want to believe this wasn’t discrimination. But the difference in treatment made me uncomfortable enough that I felt it was worth sharing. Also, no hate toward management or the restaurant overall! the issue felt specific to the host interaction that day.

Had a really uncomfortable experience at brunch at The Commerce Inn in the West Village this weekend that honestly felt discriminatory.

I'm a brown woman. I walked in to ask for a table and the host told me there were ZERO spots left and that the waitlist for brunch was completely CLOSED for the day.
But while I was standing there, I watched two white families/groups before and after me get seated immediately, and I overheard other people being added to the waitlist.
Then I asked my white husband walk in separately about five to ten minutes later and he was seated at a table for two instantly (he wasn't with me the first time).

When I came over to join him, staff acted weird about it and basically tried to stop me from sitting there until it became obvious we were together.

We confronted to host and asked why I, five minutes earlier, was denied the opportunity to even add my name to the waitlist, whereas he was able to sit immediately. We were told that there were "so many cancellations" in those five minutes and that the host "has a weird way of managing the waitlist" (???)

We ended up leaving because the whole thing felt gross and uncomfortable.

Maybe there's some explanation, but the difference in treatment was hard to ignore.

Curious if anyone else has had a similar experience at the Commerce Inn?

P.S: Just sharing my personal experience. I obviously can’t know anyone’s intent, and I genuinely want to believe this wasn’t discrimination. But the difference in treatment made me uncomfortable enough that I felt it was worth sharing. Also, no hate toward management or the restaurant overall! the issue felt specific to the host interaction that day.