BBQ joint to host 'White Appreciation Day'

MILLIKEN, Colo. — The Hispanic owners of a barbecue restaurant in Milliken say they plan to host a "White Appreciation Day" next month.

What started as a joke is now on the calendar. Edgar Antillon and Miguel Jimenez recently purchased Rubbin Buttz BBQ on Broad Street. On June 11, they plan to offer a 10% discount to all white customers and no one else.

"We have a whole month for Black History Month," Antillon said. "We have a whole month for Hispanic heritage month, so we thought the least we could do was offer one day to appreciate white Americans."

The men expect they might receive backlash and say they realize there's a history of racism in the USA.

"It's a perpetuation of racism," said Ricardo Romero, a civil rights activist and community organizer in Weld County. "It's wrong, if you're going to give a discount, give it to the whole community."

There could be legal repercussions as well, according to Jennifer McPherson of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies.

"If someone felt like they were being discriminated against, they could come to the civil rights division and file a complaint in our office and we would investigate that," said McPherson.

Antillon says the discount isn't meant to discriminate, but instead bring people together. He added that he has been the target of racism in the past. He hopes opening up the discussion will prompt others to think differently about race.

"We're all American, whether you came from a different country or you were born here," Antillon said. "We're all American."

Antillon said he would consider offering a discount to other racial groups, but said it's unlikely to actually happen.