Restaurant defends calling cops on dinner party claiming 52 people showed up to reservation for 25 and then complained and threatened to not pay when staff couldn't split their $2,200 bill
A local restaurant in Georgia has defended calling the police on a large dinner party after it allegedly refused to split the table's $2,200 bill into separate checks.
The awkward incident unfolded last month at Louisiana Bistreaux Seafood Kitchen in East Point, Georgia where a large group people were celebrating a woman's 30th birthday.
The March 10th event ultimately ended in a dispute and with a visit from the cops after the restaurant put the party's balance on a single tab and refused to break it down into individual bills.
The majority of guests were instead forced to withdraw cash at an ATM in a nearby hotel in order to pay for check, resulting in a logistical nightmare.
In an interview with DailyMail.com Saturday, Louisiana Bistreaux said the confusion arose when more than 50 people turned up for a reservation that was made for 25, and some were allegedly refusing to pay.
Police were called on a group of 25 at the Louisiana Bistreaux Seafood Kitchen in East Point, Georgia, on March 10 after the staff refused to split the party's check
The restaurant's policy requires guests to sign a contract agreeing to pay with one form of payment for reservations for 25 people, marketing director Wendy Smith explained.
And while staff agreed to accommodate the extra guests, they said they were forced to call the police after some threatened to walk out without paying.
'While the incident on March 10th is unfortunate, not mentioned in this report, reservations were made was for 25 people and per our contractual agreement one bill would be presented to the host, 52 guests showed,' Smith said.
'Our policy is advance payment and attendance guarantee for large parties, however, our staff did their best to create a seamless experience for the additional 27 unexpected guests.
'The police were called only when some of the unexpected guests refused to pay.'
In TikTok videos shared by a woman identified only as Key, visibly frustrated party guests were seen standing around the restaurant as staff explained they couldn't accommodate their requests to split the bill.
Key told DailyMail.com Friday that her sister Quandresha Brinkley made the reservation and had talked with staff at the restaurant beforehand about what they would need to do to arrange payment.
'She said to have less credits cards but make sure people have cash,' she said Brinkley was told by the restaurant manager.
But in the end, it was Brinkley who had to pay for the bill out of her own pocket after several people decided to skip out on the tab and left the restaurant in frustration.
The phone even pans over the entirety of the receipt, showing a staggering bill for $2,204.30
A lot of the older attendees didn't have Cash App, so they needed to use cash. Since there were no ATMs in the restaurant, Key said guests were forced to walk to a nearby hotel in order to withdraw cash to pay. Brinkley was forced to pay a lot out of pocket when people ditched the party
Key said police were called to the scene 'way before' the bill even came for all the food. The nail technician added that officers there told her to put the restaurant (pictured) on blast
Key admitted a number of extra guests did show up, but claimed those people were sat separately and their meals were not included in the main party's tab.
Smith, however, has said otherwise. She told DailyMail.com staff took every order even though there 27 additional guests that came.
'At the end of the meal after everyone had finished eating there was a request for 50 separate bills. At that time it was impossible because the servers were just taking orders. They didn't create a system to know who had what, they were just taking orders to get all of the food prepared for them,' she said.
'Our manager tried to apologize and explain to the [party] host. She explained to us that she invited people who invited other people, so she didn't even know they were coming.
Management did claim that they took some of the drinks off
'And we called the police once we heard people stating that they were going to leave. The host did not gather her guests and explain to them, so they just got upset with us because we were saying no.'
Smith said her staff tried their best to keep the guests calm but the incident eventually got out of hand and they called the cops to 'deescalate the situation.'
'I fully believe that the host of the party understood that there were these additional people who were there that weren't part of the additional agreement. And it was the majority of them that were making the comments, and getting rowdy and loud,' she added.
When contacted by DailyMail.com on Saturday, Key disputed the restaurant's claims that there were more than 50 people in the party, and said the video - which appears to show fewer people - was shot only after a couple of people had left.
She insisted that the group did not ask for 50 checks, because many of the guests did not eat and merely dropped off birthday presents while others paid as part of a small group. She said the bill was paid in full by Brinkley.
Key, pictured, told DailyMail.com that Brinkley had made the reservation beforehand
Key, pictured, said her sister had talked with staff at the restaurant about what they would need to do to arrange payment
Video shows police officers standing in the background as the guests gather cash to put towards the hefty bill.
Several people can be seen talking to a manager at the restaurant who explains she was able to take some drinks off the tab but not split it.
Key even pans over the entirety of the receipt, showing a staggering bill for $2,204.30. She also shows one officer appearing to laugh at the scene as the manager tries to explain the situation with the drinks to the party.
Key also complained about the restaurant service which claimed was not up to par throughout the night.
While the dinner was supposed to start at around 6pm, she claimed their food still hadn't arrived by the time she showed up two hours later.
'Most people were complaining,' the nail technician said. 'Nobody had food.'
Key admitted that there were extra people who attended the gathering, but those folks were sat away from the party and paid on their own separate bill, she said.
And even when food started to come out, 'two or three plates' came that didn't belong to anyone, Key claimed. She said that the check had to be sent back a few times when the dishes appeared on the bill.
'A lot of people felt like they were getting ripped off,' Key added.
A lot of the older attendees didn't have Cash App, so they needed to use cash. Since there were no ATMs in the restaurant, Key said guests were forced to walk to a nearby hotel in order to withdraw cash to pay.
It was then that several people chose to ditch the party and not pay for their food at all, forcing Brinkley to pay a lot of the bill out of her own pocket.
'The bill did get paid,' Key said. 'Her [Brinkley's] friends brought other friends and they were the ones that ran. My sister paid money out of her pocket. She did make a reservation and she did talk about splitting the bill beforehand.'
Key said police were called to the scene 'way before' the bill even came for all the food. The nail technician added that officers there told her to post about the incident on social media.
'He said "Go on social media about it and tell them about the restaurant. Go to social media about how they treated y'all,'" Key recalled.
The East Point Police Department could not be reached for comment.
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