- Title: Sanctuary restaurants support immigrant employees
- Date: 30th January 2017
- Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 30, 2017) (REUTERS) ENTRANCE OF SACTUARY RESTAURANT AMALI SIGN READING (English)" "SANCTUARY RESTAURANT" DINING ROOM OF AMALI BAR TENDER VARIOUS OF SERVER VARIOUS OF AMALI RESTAURANT MANAGING PARTNER, JAMES MALLIOS (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMALI RESTAURANT MANAGING PARTNER, JAMES MALLIOS, SAYING: "One of the saddest moments I have ever had as a restaurant owner was when after Donald Trump was elected president, that one of our Muslim employees felt that they had to come up to me, pull me aside and let me know that they were a peace-loving Muslim. I thought that was so sad, so sad really that they felt the need to tell me that. It blew my mind." MALLIOS WALKING IN DINING ROOM (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMALI RESTAURANT MANAGING PARTNER, JAMES MALLIOS, SAYING: "Why does farm-to-table matter? People buy farm-to-table and let people know they buy farm-to-table because it is important to them to let people know their value system and the way they look at food and how they approach food. In a similar vein, I think it is important to us to be a sanctuary restaurant so that our customers and people know where we stand and the values we espouse and believe in terms of how we treat our co-workers." HANDS CHOPPING PEPPERS PREP COOK OF ASIAN DESCENT CHOPPING PEPPERS VARIOUS OF COOKS IN KITCHEN RESTAURANT WORKER WASHING DISHES AMALI RESTAURANT EXECUTIVE CHEF, DAN ROSS-LEUTWYLER, IN KITCHEN (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMALI RESTAURANT EXECUTIVE CHEF, DAN ROSS-LEUTWYLER, SAYING: "It's kind of a no-brainer for us because the people that we work here with, the people who have worked here for so long, it's a very diverse group and they are part of our family so to speak." VARIOUS OF AMALI RESTAURANT MANAGER, TANYA SAXENA, WORKING ON COMPUTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMALI RESTAURANT MANAGER, TANYA SAXENA, SAYING: "I haven't heard anything yet, but I know that people do feel safe working here, and it's nice to have that job security and to know that you are not going to lose anything because of your religious status." VARIOUS OF STREET (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW YORKER, MATTHEW CAMPBELL, SAYING: "I think that that is a great movement to have a sanctuary restaurant in a sanctuary city. I think that's great." (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW YORKER, JAMES GILBERT, SAYING: "I don't know. I may not support the restaurants that are not supportive, that are not sanctuary restaurants but I don't know." EXTERIOR OF AMALI RESTAURANT VARIOUS OF SIGN OF SANCTUARY RESTAURANT WIDE VIEW OF AMALI RESTAURANT
- Embargoed: 13th February 2017 22:50
- Keywords: Sanctuary restaurant Donald Trump immigrants Amali restaurant
- Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Race Relations / Ethnic Issues,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA001619XVT3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The immigrant-heavy U.S. restaurant industry reacted to recent executive orders by U.S. President Donald Trump by becoming "sanctuaries" for their workers.
Last week Trump signed executive orders imposing tighter vetting to prevent foreign terrorists from entering the United States and taking away federal funding from cities that shield undocumented immigrants from deportation.
The largely symbolic movement dubbed "Sanctuary Restaurants" is a joint project of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United and Presente.org and already has the support of around 80 of restaurants in large urban centers such as New York, California, Minneapolis, Detroit, Boston, Seattle and Austin.
On its website, Sanctuary Restaurants said that it had zero tolerance for sexism, racism and xenophobia and that "there a place at the table for all".
One such sanctuary restaurant is Amali in midtown Manhattan. It's owner, James Mallios, a former employment lawyer turned restaurateur, is of Greek descent and said that he decided to join after a personal experience with one of his staff members.
"One of the saddest moments I have ever had as a restaurant owner was when after Donald Trump was elected president, that one of our Muslim employees felt that they had to come up to me, pull me aside and let me know that they were a peace-loving Muslim," Mallios told Reuters.
"It blew my mind," he added.
Amali patrons are greeted with a sign that reads "Sanctuary Restaurant" at the entrance. And while the designation offers no special protection for undocumented immigrants, Mallios said that it was important to communicate his beliefs to customers.
"People buy farm-to-table and let people know they buy farm-to-table because it is important to them to let people know their value system and the way they look at food and how they approach food. In a similar vein, I think it is important to us to be a sanctuary restaurant and let customers and people know where we stand and the values we espouse and believe in terms of how we treat our co-workers," he said.
Amali manager Tanya Saxena, a second-generation Indian-American, said that while she had no feedback yet from employees she was sure that everybody welcomed the new symbolic move.
"It's nice to have that job security and to know that you are not going to lose anything because of your religious status," she said.
Amali restaurant employs about 50 people of different racial backgrounds, all of whom are in the United States legally.
Outside the restaurant passersby said that they approved of the initiative.
"I think that that is a great movement to have a sanctuary restaurant in a sanctuary city," hair dresser Matthew Campbell said.
James Gilbert also approved, but said that he was not sure yet whether the status will impact his dining choices in the future.
"I don't know. I may not support the restaurants that are not supportive, that are not sanctuary restaurants, but I don't know," he said.
Trumps executive orders prompted protests of thousands of people in major U.S. cities late last week and over the weekend. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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