Indianapolis Steak n' Shake Restaurant Closes Its Doors on the Busiest Night of the Indiana Black Expo, But Still Served Some Law Enforcement Officers, Was this an Act of Discrimination?

A controversy is swirling at a popular fast-food restaurant in downtown Indianapolis and may taking on an ugly appearance of discrimination. The restaurant, "Steak n' Shake," closed its doors during the busiest portion of the Black Expo's Summer Celebration. Many restaurants and bar stay open during this period to accommodate the late night crowd. Some are very suspicious about Steak n' Shake's decision to close its doors. Le'Deana Brown, who had her camera rolling on Saturday night (July 18, 2009) during the Summer Celebration, said in an interview with 6 News, "You don't just see a 24-hour restaurant close. I just wanted to raise the question of why would they do something like that," Brown said.

The restaurant's sign indicated routine maintenance as the reason for closing, but Brown reportedly said she noticed that some law enforcement officers were being served."When we got there, we saw that they were in and people were in there eating, but we just couldn't get anything to eat," Brown said. If those allegations are true, then Steak n' Shake should be boycotted because this was a case of discrimination.

 It would be interesting to see if the restaurant has had any such incidents in prior years. Tanya Bell, CEO and president of Black Expo, said that the Indiana Black Expo generates $38 million for the city. It seems suspect that they would close their doors on the busiest night.