The Culinary Union, though it doesn’t represent any of Lucille’s Smokehouse workers, launched an “alert website” at lucillesbbqriskalert.org. The online address is to warn potential diners about the restaurants’ questionable branding.
“Aimed at pressing Hofman Hospitality Group for answers, the Culinary Union’s new website revisits the restaurant’s use of a fictional African-American woman named Lucille Buchanan and questions why the owners stopped explaining their namesake in 2020,” the website explains.
Culinary says other brands that have included potentially offensive logos and names have rebranded since the murder of George Floyd in May 2020. The union is wondering why Hofman Hospitality hasn’t also stood in solidarity with those seeking racial equality.