‘Everyone is welcome,’ owners of restaurant say

(Restaurants, from B1] claims. (Gran Blanco’s current owners also issued a separate statement last week saying the restaurant is welcoming to all.)

- 

THE EXTERIOR of the Great White in West Hollywood. There are three other locations in Los Angeles.

(STEPHANIE BREIJO Los Angeles Times)

The recent backlash began with a video posted to Instagram Sept. 29 from a woman sitting at Great White.

“I don't know if it’s just me but they put all Asians in one corner, and it’s all white people,” diner Cassidy Cho said in her video. She quickly pans around the alfresco area, revealing what appear to be multiple people of color seated on the patio, but patrons who appear of Asian descent are seated along the sides.

Cho could not be reached for comment.

Her video reached thousands of new eyes when social media personality Ed Choi, whose combined Tik-Tok and Instagram accounts have nearly 800,000 followers, shared her account with his own commentary, and has posted more than a dozen updates on the topic since.

“We have never tolerated racism in any way and never will,” Great White owners Trude and Cooper said in a joint statement. “We've worked intentionally to create a workplace and community that bring people together from many different backgrounds and cultures around the world. With that comes a responsibility, to ensure that everyone who walks through our doors feels welcome, respected, and safe. These are standards we hold ourselves to every day.”

With the social media videos on Great White, a fresh string of allegations surfaced about Gran Blanco when it was operated by Trude and Cooper.

Sarah Rose Brier worked at Gran Blanco between 2021 and 2022 in roles including hostess, barback and server. Brier and two other former employees alleged that hosts and doormen at Gran Blanco were told by managers to turn away prospective guests based on race, ethnicity, weight and “vibe.”

Managers at the time at Gran Blanco could not be reached for comment.