Joe’s Crab Shack apologizes to diners irked by 1895 lynching photo

ROSEVILLE, Minn. – The Minneapolis NAACP has demanded an apology from Joe’s Crab Shack after diners at a restaurant in a St. Paul suburb complained that their table was embedded with a photo depicting the lynching of a black man in Texas in 1895.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that the diners were waiting for their meals at the restaurant Wednesday when they noticed the photo, including a cartoon bubble coming from the hanged man’s head reading: “All I said was, ‘I don’t like the gumbo!’ ”

At a news conference outside the restaurant Thursday, the NAACP called the image “egregious,” demanding an apology and the removal of racist imagery from all Joe’s Crab Shack restaurants.

Parent company Ignite Restaurant Group issued an apology and removed the table.

This story was originally published March 11, 2016 at 12:29 PM with the headline "Joe’s Crab Shack apologizes to diners irked by 1895 lynching photo."