
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, June 5, 1993                   TAG: 9306050585
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DENNY'S DENIES IT WOULDN'T SERVE CHOIR

Managers at two Denny's restaurants in Woodbridge and Dale City never refused to serve three bus loads of children and adults from an all-black choir, chain officials said Friday.

Meanwhile, new charges of discrimination aimed at a Denny's in Raleigh, N.C., were leveled by two Wake County sheriff's deputies who spoke at a news conference called by the choir Friday night.

In a statement that differed from its original response to the racial discrimination charges, Denny's said an internal investigation found the choir members were offered service but left before they could be accommodated.

"In both Denny's restaurants, we offered to serve the large group and indicated there would be a lengthy wait in order for us to provide adequate service," said the Spartanburg, S.C.-based chain of 1,460 restaurants. "We were properly staffed to handle our normal flow of business but were not prepared for an additional 130 customers at one time."

Attorneys who met with the choir said parents did not believe Denny's version.

At first, the chain indicated the choir members likely were refused service because there weren't enough staffers to handle such a large number of customers.

The North Carolina Human Relations Commission has begun an investigation in response to the Martin Luther King All Children's Choir of Raleigh's allegation about being refused service at two Denny's restaurants.

In Virginia, the Prince William County Human Rights Commission said Friday it also had begun an investigation of the matter.

Contacted after the news conference, Denny's spokeswoman Karen Randall said she could not elaborate on the statement that had been released earlier in the day.

Choir officials called a news conference Friday night after meeting with attorneys from the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, local NAACP officials, and the director of the North Carolina Human Relations Commission.

Attorneys from the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights said parents of choir members did not believe Denny's explanation.

by CNB