A group of customers was spotted passing around a racially insensitive pinata at a River North nightclub Sunday evening. A Tribune staffer caught the event on video.
The video, shot by Tribune multimedia producer Roger Morales on his iPhone, shows a group of white customers at El Hefe (15 W. Hubbard St.) taking photos with a pinata designed in a way that resembles a performer in blackface, with large white eyes, red lips and a top hat. The pinata was also pantsless.
Morales, who was at El Hefe with friends, says he spotted the group pulling the pinata out of the kitchen, and that no staff members at El Hefe tried to stop the incident.
Watch the video above.
Calls to the River North club and to Riot Hospitality Group, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company that manages El Hefe, and an email to a marketing director at Riot, have not been returned.
A DNAinfo story reports that Riot spokesperson Robyn Moore provided DNAinfo with a statement “that the bar neither purchased nor provided the piñata to the group and apologized to anyone ‘who was offended by the situation.'”
The incident took place the day before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the national holiday honoring the legacy of the late civil rights leader.
UPDATE: Riot Hospitality Group replied to the Tribune’s inquiries late Wednesday evening with a written statement. The full statement is below. “Arizona-based Riot Hospitality Group, the hospitality management company behind El Hefe, has been made aware of the situation occurring at El Hefe Chicago on Sunday, January 15. After discussion with our management team onsite, we learned that the piñata in question was brought in by a private group for a birthday celebration. No one within our organization either purchased or provided the piñata to the group. Nonetheless, we apologize to anyone who was offended by the situation. We will use it as a teaching moment for our staff as it concerns the allowance of such party favors into our establishments. El Hefe like all Riot Hospitality Group venues is a place of public accommodation. It does not nor ever has it discriminated against anyone on the basis of race or for any other reason. To the contrary, we strive to at all times treat our employees and our guests with the utmost respect.”
mconrad@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @marissa_conrad
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