‘A bit racist’: Bondi barista loses his job after manager says locals want coffee made ‘by a white guy’

A black British international student in Australia has taken to social media after being told by his manager locals to the Bondi coffee chain were “a bit racist” and wanted their coffee made “by a white guy”.

Ayokunle “Ayo” Oluwalana had been working at the Bondi store of the coffee chain XS Espresso, which has multiple stores across Sydney.

The 25 year old took to social media on Thursday saying his manager had told him that there had been complaints about his coffee by locals who “were a bit racist”.

SO THE MANAGER AT BONDI XS ESPRESSO FIRED AN EMPLOYEE DUE TO HIS SKIN COLOUR SAYING THAT THE ‘LOCALS’ ARE RACIST AND LIKE THEIR COFFEE MADE BY THE OTHER BARISTA (YT OF COURSE). ANYWAYS BOYCOTT THE BONDI STORE XX PIC.TWITTER.COM/OVBV6ACFVA

— EMZ (@EMILYPHVM) JUNE 18, 2020

So the manager at Bondi XS Espresso fired an employee due to his skin colour saying that the ‘locals’ are racist and like their coffee made by the other barista (yt of course). Anyways boycott the Bondi store xx pic.twitter.com/OVBV6ACfva

— emz (@emilyphvm) June 18, 2020

“I was very surprised given I have only heard good things and I have only got compliments about it,” Mr Oluwalana said on Instragram.

“Then he (the manager) goes, ‘Well you know how Bondi is, the locals are a bit racist’, so I am like, ‘Oh so that’s the real reason’, and he’s like, ‘Yeah, they like their coffee made by the people that are there already, by the barista that’s there already’, who’s a white guy,” he said.

SBS News has reached out to the XS Espresso chain for a comment.

The company did not respond, but had earlier posted a statement to its Facebook page on Friday.

“We were deeply saddened to learn of an incident that took place at our Bondi location yesterday. When we were made aware of the incident, our foremost concern was towards the gentleman who had been mistreated by a manager at our Bondi location,” the statement read.

“This was an isolated incident of gross misconduct which should not have happened, and we are terribly remorseful for the treatment he received.”

The statement went on to say that the founder of the franchise had spoken to Mr Oluwalana and that “corrective action” would be taken.

They did not say if the manager involved would be fired or what action would be taken against him.

The statement added that they would be auditing all aspects of the business to look at race and racism and that staff would receive anti-discrimination training.

Many social media users expressed outrage about Mr Oluwalana’s treatment, with users promising to boycott the cafe and others recommending he take legal action for unfair dismissal.

Mr Oluwalana, who SBS has attempted to contact, posted a statement to his Instagram page, saying he was not angry, but just wanted people to know what happened.

“After speaking to the owner of the whole company I do believe that he is shocked and saddened by what happened and the manager of the Bondi franchise has been reprimanded for his actions,” he said.

“So for me, I’m moving on and I’m happy to put a pin in it, to move on and to not waste any more time on this situation. I am surprisingly not sad or angry, but more so pleased and proud of the responses shown, that gives me faith in the world in these current times,” he added.

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