Gay waiter says he was wrongly fired from Jim’s Coffee Shop
QSanAntonio.com, December 5, 2009

A gay man who worked as a waiter at Jim’s Coffee Shop on IH 35 and O’Connor says he was fired after he complained when one of the managers of that restaurant had improperly touched his partner on two occasions.

The waiter, Keith Hart, says Cole Acuff, his partner of four years, was sitting in the restaurant on November 16, working on his computer, when the night manager came over to talk to him.

Acuff describes the encounter. "The night manager came over to me that afternoon and started touching me and rubbing his hands all over my back, arms and shoulders. I knew it was wrong as soon as he did it, I had this sick feeling in my stomach, and I felt violated."

Acuff says it was the second time that the night manager touched him in the same manner.

"On another occasion I came to the restaurant to pick Keith up from work. I just came out of the restroom when the night manager saw me and ran from behind the counter to talk to me while rubbed my shoulders and touched my back and my arm with his hand. That made me very uncomfortable."

Hart says that on both occasions he voiced his concerns about the night manager’s behavior to Joe Rice, the restaurant’s general manager. However, after the second time he spoke to Rice, Hart was removed from the restaurant’s weekly work schedule and essentially put out of work.

Alarmed over the loss of his job, Hart went to the corporate headquarters of Frontier Enterprises, Jim’s Coffee Shop’s parent company, and spoke to Wayne Shirley, the head of the Human Resources Department.

Hart says that Shirley listened to his story and told him not to worry, that he would talk to Rice and he would be put back on the schedule. Shirley instructed Hart to call Rice to set up his hours.

When Hart called Rice, Hart was told he had to come in for a meeting before he would be put back on the schedule. At that meeting Hart was told that he would get his job back if he promised that his partner would no longer come into the restaurant.

The ultimatum, says Hart, put him in the uncomfortable position of having to choose between his job and his partner. He says he left the meeting knowing he would no longer work at Jim’s.

QSanAntonio contacted Frontier Enterprises to get their explanation as to why they decided to fire Hart. We were referred to Jan Nickel, assistant to President and COO Patrick Richardson. Nickel told QSanAntonio that she would convey the inquiry to Richardson. However, after two telephone calls no reply was received as this story went to press.

Jim’s Coffee Shops have been doing business in San Antonio since 1947 when founder G. Jim Hasslocher built his first burger stand, which became a drive-in burger joint with carhops and eventually led to full-service restaurants in several locations.

Today there are 16 Jim’s Coffee Shops in San Antonio and three located in Austin. Frontier Enterprises also owns the Magic Time Machine in San Antonio and Dallas. The company’s web site is JimsRestaurants.com.

Hart says he feels that rather than deal with a "gay" instance of improper touching, Frontier’s management preferred to ignore the matter by banning his partner from the premises. "What was I supposed to do? Let the night manager put his hands all over my partner sexually and keep my mouth shut? It hurts that there isn't anything we can do."

Acuff echoes Hart’s sentiments. "This incident was just like someone touching a person’s husband or wife. In other states there are laws that protect gay people from being discriminated against and harassed. Where are the laws to protect us in Texas? Where are the laws that protect our jobs?"