Pennsylvania Restaurant Removes Racist Sign Comparing Welfare Recipients To Dogs

A members-only restaurant in New Hope, Pa., is facing backlash after a visitor spotted a racist sign on one of its walls and posted its image online, sparking protests. The restaurant owner has since apologized for displaying the sign.

Fred’s Breakfast Club had a sign hanging on its wall that featured a racist joke comparing people on welfare in the U.S. to dogs. Hundreds of people and at least one civil rights organization condemned the sign online for its racist overtones.

On Sept. 12, dozens of peaceful protesters, led by the head of the Bucks County anti-racism coalition, had gathered outside the restaurant calling for a convincing apology from the restaurant, Today reported.

Stacey Masters, who had visited the restaurant Sept. 8, took a photograph of the sign and posted it on a community Facebook page. The following day, the Bucks County branch of The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) shared the picture online, after which the restaurant removed it from its wall.

The restaurant had initially posted a statement on its Facebook page regarding the incident. “It will make you all happy to know that a person near and dear to my heart, a Fred’s member has come and removed the sign,” the owner said in the post, adding that the people who “think my desire to not censor a members contribution to our walls makes me a bad person then I support your right to vote with your feet.”

A second response by the restaurant was an apology for the sign. “To every person of any color, gender, orientation, and those affected by hate who feel demeaned or unwelcome by the content of the application, we are deeply sorry. It was never our intention. Please accept our sincerest apology,” the post read. The restaurant's page has since been deleted.

The framed sign, which was said to be sent as an application for membership, tells a joke about someone trying to sign their dogs up for welfare. A female welfare officer says the dogs aren’t eligible and the dog owner replies “my dogs are mixed in color, unemployed, can’t speak English and have no clue who their Daddies are. They expect me to feed them, provide them with housing, medical care, and feel guilty because they are dogs.” “So she looked in her policy book to see what it takes to qualify,” the joke continued. “MY Dogs get their first checks Friday. Damn this is a great country!”

The 31-seat restaurant, decorated with dog-themed memorabilia, is known among locals for their singing dogs that howl “Happy Birthday” to the customers inside. Various customers who found the sign disrespectful have asked the owners to remove it for years but their pleas fell on deaf ears, Today reported, quoting Yelp reviews.