About 50 community members held a protest outside Table to Stix Ramen Saturday after the restaurant’s owner followed and threatened a Black patron who declined to leave an additional tip on his meal on April 19. A video of the dispute went viral shortly after.
The protesters alleged the incident was racially motivated and demanded accountability from Table to Stix owner Kenny Chou. While many called on Chou to publicly apologize for the incident, others wanted more.
“I’m not really here for no apology,” said Carolyn Ruff, who organized the protest. “I’m here to shut this (restaurant) down.”
The video, which has garnered over 1.2 million views on X, shows Chou shouting expletives and threatening language at the patron. Ruff called Chou’s actions “racist,” “humiliating” and “inhumane.”
Community members also expressed dissatisfaction with Chou’s approach to reconciliation so far. While Chou apologized on CBS News Chicago on Thursday, many protesters wished he had spoken directly to Evanston’s Black residents.
On Saturday, Chou apologized again, weathering vocal criticism from the protestors.
“It was a deeply regrettable moment where I, Kenny Chou, lost my composure,” Chou said. “I stepped far beyond the bounds of respect and decency.”
Still, many protesters said this apology did not go far enough.
Speakers like community activist Meleika Gardner said they hoped for more concrete action from Chou.
“This isn’t about cancel culture,” Gardner said. “It’s about consequence culture. It’s not about awareness — it’s about accountability.”
Others called for direct action from Evanston’s overall Asian population. Several attendees spoke about the need to combat anti-Black racism in non-Black communities of color.
Many speakers, including Gardner, highlighted the historical solidarity between Asian and Black civil rights activists and said Black activism paved the way for the liberation of all minority groups.
“It was Black hands, Black backs, Black blood that fought, often alone, to tear down the walls of injustice in this country,” Gardner said. “And because of that sacrifice, doors were opened.”
Community organizer William Carter voiced his concern that closing the restaurant could negatively impact Chou’s employees who were not involved in the incident and instead argued Chou himself should face criminal charges.
Although she did not attend the protest, the patron’s mother seemed to agree.
Rev. Michael Nabors of Evanston’s Second Baptist Church said the patron’s mother didn’t want the restaurant to close and added it had been the family’s “go-to for ramen in Evanston” for nearly a decade.
Nabors read a letter from the patron’s mother addressed to Chou, asking him to imagine the patron had been his own son.
“Would you want criminal charges put upon that person? It is to this logical and evidential extent that you should be held to the applicable and justified legal standards for your action,” the letter read.
Some protesters criticized Mayor Daniel Biss’ absence and requested City Council take action. While Biss was not in attendance, Ald. Jonathan Nieuwsma (4th) was present and spoke, calling the incident “unacceptable” and expressing his desire for a peaceful resolution.
Nieuwsma previously told The Daily he had been in contact with Chou after the incident to offer his help. The incident also appeared on the agenda of Thursday’s Equity and Empowerment Commission meeting, with the item labeled as “Community concerns regarding an incident at a local business.”
While the protesters were divided on the best way to move forward, speakers remained unified in their calls to center the needs of Evanston’s Black residents.
“This moment doesn’t belong to Mr. Chou. It belongs to us, the Black community,” Gardner said. “It belongs to us, and whether we accept his apology or not, we remain the ones who define the terms of the repair.”
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X: @jdowb2005
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