Black women say they were asked to leave Chesapeake restaurant because of their race
Shakoya Somerville-**** said she and her friends were dining at Cork and Bull Restaurant when two other Black women who weren't with their group started fighting.
www.wtkr.com
Black women say they were asked to leave Chesapeake restaurant because of their race
Black women say they were asked to leave Chesapeake restaurant because of their race
Posted 7:17 PM, Nov 20, 2025
and last updated 9:08 AM, Nov 21, 2025
CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Nine Black women who witnessed an altercation at a Chesapeake restaurant say they were discriminated against and wrongfully removed earlier this month, prompting them to consider legal action.
Shakoya Somerville-**** said she and her friends were dining at Cork and Bull Restaurant when two other Black women who weren't with their group started fighting. While those women left the restaurant, Somerville-**** said managers told her group to leave as well, even though they weren't involved in the altercation.
"No one should be removed from an establishment or denied service when they've done nothing wrong and there should be some type of accountability, clarity, as well as prevention," Somerville-**** said. "I don't want this to happen to anyone else again."
When Somerville-**** questioned the decision, she said a manager made a racially charged comment.
"I questioned, Are you shutting the entire restaurant down for tonight? No, we're just not servicing you all because y'all like to fight," Somerville-**** said.
Somerville-**** and her friends have retained attorney Joyvan Malbon-Griffin, who said they're considering taking legal action against the restaurant.
"So we could start with an apology, but I think at this point, after so much time has passed, after so many hurt feelings, after the anxiety, the emotional toll that now they have to seek out professional advice from just to be able to get through it," Malbon-Griffin said.
Cork and Bull Chophouse declined to comment. A manager said their attorneys have advised them not to issue a statement.
A review of Cork and Bull's social media pages indicates that they had limited comments on recent posts.
The President of the NAACP Virginia State Conference said the incident "is a painful reminder that racism remains embedded in our daily lives. It is unacceptable for anyone to be judged or mistreated based solely on the color of their skin."
