Eileen Rinaldi, owner of San Francisco coffee shop Ritual, made the decision to fire her own husband from the job after he reported using a racial slur during a verbal altercation while managing a construction project.
John Rinaldi, her husband, was involved in a fight over a parking space in which the n-word was exchanged back and forth between he and the fighting party.
Several people of color heard Rinaldi in particular using the slur, leading to Eileen Rinaldi making the choice to fire her own husband from the construction project.
She announced her decision in a statement that was shared to the company's Instagram page.
"Words have power," wrote Rinaldi on Instagram, "and the word he repeated is undoubtedly racist and harmful. To me, it means hate and dehumanization."
"I am thinking about and gutted by the unimaginable pain, anger, and trauma this word has caused throughout history and in every moment a white person uses it."
word that was shouted at me \u2013 a word I never, ever use.\u201d\nThis incident is extremely upsetting to me,\u201d Eileen Rinaldi wrote in an Instagram post. \u201cWhile he had only this freelance construction role at Ritual in the last year, I'm deeply regretful for allowing John to oversee it— \u062b\u0642\u0644\u064a\u0646 \u0646\u0642\u0648\u06cc (@\u062b\u0642\u0644\u064a\u0646 \u0646\u0642\u0648\u06cc) 1623464556
Damn. He got canceled by his spouse!— FrontSeatPete (@FrontSeatPete) 1623205632
So she took him off the payroll?pic.twitter.com/cRGj7f0Sur— A Sisyphus for the rest of us (@A Sisyphus for the rest of us) 1623278183
"I have made mistakes and I'm learning. I am committed to doing the necessary work of continuously evolving how we are an anti-racist, inclusive, and equitable business and place for our employees, customers, and community," she continued.
"And I embrace that this work has no closure. We need to work on it every month and year and for the life of the business."
https://twitter.com/sfchronicle/status/1402451896829460481\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/qruCfl3bYa— Andrew Sinclair (@Andrew Sinclair) 1623287277
Never liked them much anyways \u00af\_(\u30c4)_/\u00afhttps://twitter.com/sfchronicle/status/1402451896829460481\u00a0\u2026— 1990 hana civic (they/them) (@1990 hana civic (they/them)) 1623225687
But he still owns it? \n\nHaaa this place has always been gentrification trashhttps://twitter.com/sfchronicle/status/1402451896829460481\u00a0\u2026— GAY SHAME (@GAY SHAME) 1623219952
John Rinaldi told the San Francisco Chroniclethat he otherwise would "never, ever use" the n-word.
"I regret the incident, and feel terrible about it. I am deeply disappointed in myself for meeting hostility with hostility, and allowing the situation to escalate."
"This was an unfortunate incident over a parking spot. I have apologized for repeating the derogatory word that was shouted at me. A word I never, ever use."\n\nI like how people who get caused using the N-word always say they NEVER use it.https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/A-year-after-racial-reckoning-Ritual-Coffee-16234472.php?fbclid=IwAR1Nnyu7S7kwvhiUk80x5vR4cPaBpgdWt0crMbv5VNuc4n6_ocHNuHqhu8M\u00a0\u2026— Carolyn Copeland (@Carolyn Copeland) 1623279769
Onetime mayoral candidate Chicken John has now been "fired" from Ritual Coffee, which was founded by his wife, after he was heard using the N-word in a contentious exchange over a parking spot in the Mission.https://sfist.com/2021/06/09/chicken-john-back-in-the-news-after-racial-epithet-incident-in-the-mission/\u00a0\u2026— SFist (@SFist) 1623269548
Rinaldi, who once ran a joke campaign for mayor of San Francisco and who has come to be known as "Chicken John," has encountered claims about his racial sensitivity before.
Whether or not this will remain a problem with Ritual's brand itself remains to be seen.