'Whites Only' Restaurant Shut Down

A 'whites only' restaurant operated by an Italian seafood company, Atlantic Lobster and Dolphins Limited, has been shut down by government for its discriminatory policy.

Residents in the Osu neighbourhood where the restaurant has been operating for some time now call the eating joint 'whites only' because they have come to regard the place as a no-go area for their black compatriots and hosts.

The 'whites only' restaurant sits atop the Atlantic Lobster and Dolphin, owners of the exclusive eating joint which is situated off the road to Papaye, another food joint.

The company deals in seafood but recently opened an open air restaurant above, where patronage is strictly by white membership.

Blacks will be allowed into the 'whites only' club only if they are in the company of white members of the exclusive club.

A black woman who visited the facility on the evening of October 26, 2011, in the company of Spanish and Japanese friends, blew the whistle on the racist restaurant.

After their meal, Elizabeth Okoro said her host, a Japanese colleague, asked for a receipt upon which he was presented with a piece of paper bearing a hand written figure of GH¢180.

'When he insisted on a proper receipt, one of the Italian owners by name AXL told us that this was all they gave as they were a club and not a restaurant,' she said.

'My colleague was told that if he insisted on a receipt, he would have to come to the shop the following day to be issued with a 'receipt' for the purchase of seafood from the shop and not for the food we had consumed.'

She said that her Spanish colleague wanted to join the club too and when their Japanese host informed the owner, he fetched their membership register for the Spanish to join.

'At that point, I asked if I could also join the club to which the Italian replied 'No, it is for white people only' and then laughed.'

Elizabeth Okoro said she was shocked by the remarks of the restaurant owner and wondered why Ghanaians could be subjected to such open racism in their own country.

When DAILY GUIDE visited the restaurant opposite the Casino Club at Osu Papaye Down, the place was indeed closed down as suggested by many as the Ghana Tourism Authority notices were posted on the building.

The notices asked members of the public not to patronize the place.

Several notices of closure posters were posted on the restaurant's gate by the Authority, warning the public not to use the facility.

A resident who pleaded anonymity said that the facility was owned by an Italian called Anthony Daliou who is said to be married to a Ghanaian wife and has a Ghanaian baby.

She noted that 'only white people are entertained here and wondered why it operated for so long until now.'

 By Linda Tenyah