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A Hispanic restaurant owner is claiming that the city of Chicago brazenly refused to renew his license to operate at a city-owned waterfront location because he is not black.
Robert Gomez, owner of Beat Kitchen on the Riverwalk, sued the city after he was denied the permit he had held since 2019 – despite being the most qualified applicant, the federal civil rights lawsuit alleges.
The filing claims that the city bent its criteria and sneakily reviewed and accepted a ‘deficient’ proposal to favor a black-owned local business, Haire’s Gulf Shrimp, as a result of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s stances on racial equity.
‘It’s depressing,’ Gomez told the Daily Mail. ‘Like, how could they do this?’
In late 2023, Gomez’s lease on the Chicago Riverwalk, an iconic 1.25-mile stretch along the south bank of the Chicago River, ended after three successful seasons of operation.
Given the venue’s lively atmosphere and it successfully generating more than $3 million in annual sales, the businessman – who operates five restaurants – did not anticipate any difficulty retaining the coveted license.
Gomez ‘submitted the only timely, complete, and responsive proposal for a concession contract’ to the city’s Department of Fleet and Facility Management – the Riverwalk’s overseeing agency – in April 2024, as per the lawsuit.
But to his dismay, his proposal was shot down without explanation.
Adding to his confusion, the city allegedly invited Haire’s Gulf Shrimp to apply for the permit after the deadline – and accepted a lackluster proposal.
Chicago officials not only ‘manipulated’ the criteria but also factored in ‘undisclosed racial considerations’ that Gomez believes worked against him and in favor of the vendor replacing him, according to the filing.
‘As a minority-owned business, Beat Kitchen supports the City’s stated commitment to equity – equity grounded in transparency, consistent rules, and lawful process – that is, genuine equity,’ the lawsuit states.
‘What Beat Kitchen cannot support – and what federal and state law forbid but took place – is the substitution of race-influenced directives and considerations for the rule-based evaluation required by law.’
Gomez is demanding answers about how and why these alleged breaches occurred.
‘They broke all of these rules to benefit one person. Why?’ he said.
The lawsuit claims the discrimination that Gomez has faced is the result of Johnson’s race-based initiatives that ‘disproportionately benefit black Chicagoans.’
In turn, the Riverwalk committee allegedly awarded the new vendor based on race – a violation of state and federal law – instead of strictly on qualifications.
This bias was allegedly apparent in the score sheet for Haire’s Gulf Shrimp proposal.
One committee member allegedly wrote: ‘Would be great to get a black woman-owned business and can promote her other locations.’
‘Every score that they did was mind-boggling,’ Gomez claimed.
Johnson came under federal investigation in May after being accused of prioritizing black candidates for jobs.
The probe followed a speech he delivered at Woodlawn Church on the city’s south side.
‘What I’m saying is when you hire our people, we always look out for everybody else,’ he told the congregation.
‘We are the most generous people on the planet. I don’t know too many cultures that have play cousins.’
Gomez is seeking financial damages from the city and that Haire’s Gulf Shrimp lease be declared void.
Although Haire’s Gulf Shrimp is named as a defendant – along with the city and six former or current Riverwalk committee members – Gomez is not seeking any relief from the business.
‘The reality is, I was the only one to submit a proposal by the deadline,’ Gomez told the Daily Mail.
Gomez, who has been in the industry for 30 years, said he supports bringing more diversity to the Riverwalk.
‘I’m all for more minorities on the Riverwalk,’ he said. ‘But why did they target the only 100 percent minority-owned business on the Riverwalk? It’s insane.’
The owner of Haire’s Gulf Shrimp, Aisha Murff, and a city spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit.
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