Louisiana 'fat' people banned from All You Can Eat Buffet

Bizarre News

By Stone Martindale Jan 2, 2008, 22:24 GMT

A 6-foot-3, 265-pound man says a restaurant overcharged him for his trips to the buffet line, then banned him and a relative because they're hearty eaters. A spokesman for the restaurant denies the claim. Banned! EPA/DIEGO AZUBEL

Banned! EPA/DIEGO AZUBELRicky Labit, a disabled offshore worker, said he had been a regular for eight months at the Manchuria Restaurant in Houma, eating there as often as three times a week.On his most recent visit, he said, a waitress gave him and his wife's cousin, 44-year-old Michael Borrelli, a bill for $46.40, roughly double the buffet price for two adults."She says, 'Y'all fat, and y'all eat too much,'" Labit said.Labit and Borrelli said they felt discriminated against because of their size. "I was stunned, that somebody would say something like that. I ain't that fat, I only weigh 277," Borrelli said, adding that a waitress told him he looked like he a had a "baby in the belly."Houma accountant Thomas Campo said the men were charged an extra $10 each on Dec. 21 because they made a habit of dining exclusively on the more expensive seafood dishes, including crab legs and frog legs."We have a lot of big people there," said Campo, who spoke for owner Li Shang, whose English is limited. "We don't discriminate."Labit denied ever being told he would be asked to pay more than the standard adult price.The argument grew heated, and police were called.The police report states, "The incident was settled when the management advised that the bill was a mistake and, to appease Ricky, the meal was complimentary."The Daily Comet reports that Labit said he insisted on paying but was told not to come back. He complained that when seafood on the buffet line runs out, the restaurant only grudgingly will prepare more food.Campo said the Chinese proprietress tries to reduce waste of quality food, he said."Food is for eating, not toys for your child," reads a sign posted on a wall in typewritten text. A handwritten addition reads "Or 20% added."Anyone who has ever listened to comedian John Pinette's routine of "Show Me The Buffet" would have known going in that the Chinese-owned all you can eats don't exactly show the love for the big-boned people! Have a listen:

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Y'allJan 3rd, 2008 - 01:27:50

'Y'all fat, and y'all eat too much,'

Can y'all say Cha-Ching on an out of court settlement?

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Chinese buffetJan 3rd, 2008 - 01:36:44

you go now, you scare my wife...
we dry creaner now!

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Agree.......Jan 3rd, 2008 - 05:18:35

That some obese people eat several huge plates of food and should be charged more. Even fat kids will have plates and plates overflowing - disgusting!

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cpatilloJan 3rd, 2008 - 15:32:32

Why shouldn't people who eat several large plates of food be charged more. I have to pay full adult price and only eat half the food on my plate. It doesn't pay for me to go to a buffet, so I usually don't go, I do better with single entrees and smaller portions.

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MarkeyJan 3rd, 2008 - 16:31:25

I've gone into a buffet where obese people are walking back and forth with huge plates of food, and they are still there doing the same thing when I leave. They SHOULD be charged more!

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D NapierJan 3rd, 2008 - 20:40:43

My husband is at ideal weight and he eats 2 x's as much as me and I am obese. There are as many average size people who, when they are at an ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET, will eat ALL THAT THEY CAN. Obese people are much more focused on and scrutinized when it comes to eating. If this restaurant does not want to allow their customers 'All they can eat', they should change their menu to a per item ordering system. period.

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MarkieJan 4th, 2008 - 04:23:51

If a buffet advertises 'all you can eat' they don't have a reason to complain, but if it just says 'buffet', then I feel like they could and should charge more for those who go way over a reasonable amount. People have turned into gluttons.

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EmilieJan 4th, 2008 - 14:50:14

Hey,

Resturant owners should not have 'all you can eat' if they don't mean it. that is false advertising.
Now, 6'3' and 277 is not that heavy. It really isn't.
If a restaurant is going to charge for extra trips, they should make that clear, right off the bat. I think it is ridiculous that they charge more for one area than another (he went to crab legs a lot??) my god, thats pathetic. And the owner doesn't even speak English?
THE WORST PART- is what the waitress said!!! That was NOT the way to handle it AT ALL. She should be sued personally (on top of the company) and fired. That girl should never be allowed to work as a waitress, or anything else in customer service again. That was the part that just blew me away. What a female dog.
SO here's to the fat people of the world, and the not so fat who just get told that it looks like they are pregnant! It is discrimination in the way she said it, so that restaurant better prepare to get sued like nothing else. Actually, I'm considering calling them and telling them just what I thought of their little scheme.
Boycott Manchuria's! Who's with me?

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LissenhereJan 4th, 2008 - 17:59:13

The idea of foreign nationals telling US residents how to eat is unacceptable. If your English isn't perfect, then why are you here running a business - and minding someone else's business? This smacks of discrimination, and if this restaurant treats its valuable 'repeat' customers in this way (the most valuable customers in the restaurant business) I can almost guarantee that they will be out of business shortly. The waitress is lucky, very lucky, I feel. 'Baby in belly' can get you 'fist in face', especially in the deep south - she's lucky that the big men were gentle-men

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???Jan 4th, 2008 - 20:27:22

'ALL YOU CAN EAT' means 'ALL YOU CAN EAT'. The above poster who says that her thin husband can out eat her, and she's overweight, is correct. My skinny girlfriend eats fast food, lasagna, etc. while I eat a strict 1200 calorie a day diet, and I'm fat. I even exercise!! It's all in the metabolism of the individual, and sometimes diabetes, or other disorders. An all you can eat buffet should take their sign down if they don't truly mean it. If I were a judge, I'd bury them as deep as I could for doing this.

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