A popular Asbury Park restaurant agreed to make changes in its operating procedures after a customer claimed they were denied service based on their sexuality, an announcement from the Attorney General’s Division of Civil Rights said Friday.
Brando’s Citi Cucina on Main Street in Asbury Park entered a consent decree with the Division on Civil Rights Friday to settle a complaint that the restaurant violated New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination after a customer who identified as non-binary said they were denied service based on the restaurant’s dress code.
The agreement between Brando’s and the Division on Civil Rights settles a finding of probable cause in 2023 that the restaurant denied service to the patron based on the restaurant’s gender-binary policy prohibiting men from wearing sleeveless shirts while not holding the same standard for women, authorities said.
The customer had previously notified the staff that they were non-binary, but the restaurant maintained the patron must adhere to the men’s dress code policy, officials said.
“New Jersey’s civil rights laws make it unlawful to discriminate based on gender identity. Those protections mean that places open to the public, including restaurants, can’t maintain gender-binary dress codes that exclude LGBTQ+ people,” DCR Director Sundeep Iyer said.
As part of the consent decree, Brando’s agreed to adopt a gender-neutral dress code for customers and employees at all of its New Jersey locations, provide training for staff on the updated dress code, as well as additional training on LGBTQ+ discrimination.
The restaurant also agreed to pay the complainant $5,000 in addition to a separate $5,000 civil penalty to the state civil rights division.
The restaurant did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and an attorney for the eatery could not be reached Friday.
Brando’s Citi Cucina is a popular Italian restaurant in Asbury Park’s resurgent dining scene. The restaurant made NJ Advance Media’s list of top restaurants in Asbury Park in 2023, landing at number two.
The same ownership group runs four other restaurants in New Jersey, including Beach Tavern in Monmouth Beach, Osteria Cucina Rustica in Marlboro and Feast Italian Kitchen in Old Bridge.
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Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X
