Community rejects apology from Alabama restaurant manager who admitted calling black customers the N-word

NAACP leaders in an Alabama city said an apology to a white restaurant manager who called a bunch of black customers racially offensive names is just the first step toward repairing frayed relations between the restaurant and the city’s black community.

In a video that went viral, Jack Moltz, a manager at Nick’s in the Sticks restaurant in Tuscaloosa, was confronted and accused by a white customer of calling a bunch of black customers the N-word.

The customer, Hunter Sartain, stated that Moltz saw Sartain sitting with the group and approached him to ask if he would “go to a consultation with these n***as.”

“Because it’s their first experience, they’re my friends, and you would like me to feel bad because I sat at the table? And then you definately asked me, you asked me if I should seek the advice of with them*“****s,” Sartain said in the video.

“No, no. Bullshit,” Moltz replied in the recording.

“Yes, that’s exactly what you said. Every single one of them heard it,” Sartain said, pointing to his friends.

“No, they didn’t because everyone was inside,” Moltz replied.

Moltz and Nick’s in the Sticks have come under fire since the video began circulating on social media. Tuscaloosa city officials were quick to sentence Moltz’s alleged behavior, and plenty of community members called for a boycott of the restaurant.

Although Moltz initially denied Sartain’s accusations, he later fessed up and apologized to the black customers he called the slur. On Wednesday, he read a prepared statement to local news station WVUA23.

“On Friday, July 26, I made a statement to a white customer at a restaurant, referring to the African-American customers present as the N-word. There is no place for anyone to use the N-word. There is no justification or excuse for my characterization or the harm it has caused,” Moltz he said“I accept all the condemnation and criticism that I have attracted, and all of it is justified against me.”

Motlz added that he apologized to all African Americans and the community and would really like to contact all the black patrons who were there that evening and personally apologize to them as well.

Local NAACP leaders, who initiated calls to boycott the restaurant, accepted Moltz’s apology but demanded that the manager and the restaurant take “concrete actions to demonstrate their commitment to change.”

“While we appreciate Mr. Moltz’s decision to come forward and take responsibility for his actions, the Tuscaloosa County NAACP remains deeply concerned about the impact of his words and the broader implications for our community,” branch president Lisa Young said in a press release. “The use of such a hateful racial slur, especially by a business owner, is not only hurtful to those directly affected, but it also perpetuates systemic racism that continues to harm communities of color. We recognize that an apology can be a step toward accountability and healing. However, words alone are not enough.”

The organization demanded that the restaurant complete comprehensive diversity and sensitivity training, engage with the city’s Black and marginalized communities to construct rapport, and commit to ongoing efforts to combat racism in the establishment.

In the days since the incident went viral, quite a few comments have emerged praising Sartain for his courage in standing up for black customers and exposing Moltz’s intolerance.

On Wednesday Sartain Published on his Facebook page, he wrote that he was “deeply saddened… to see the genuine pain experienced by so many people in our community, state and country.”

“This was never about me. I only responded in defense of others and for what I thought was right. I hope that recent events will allow people to see that most Americans are good and willing to work together. We must make it our mission to treat each other with love, kindness and respect,” Sartain wrote.

Moltz’s apology video, which has garnered 64,000 views on Facebook, has generated greater than 500 comments, with many viewers dismissing Moltz’s apology and accusing him of being an artificer.

“He only regrets being caught and exposed,” said one viewer. “Now who wrote that speech, because it definitely wasn’t him,” wrote one other.

“The pain this has caused is code for I’m losing money. Let me tell him where to stick his apology,” one viewer wrote.