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civil rights logoIn the Geist area on the border between Indianapolis and Fishers; a neighborhood with some of the highest incomes for both Blacks and whites in the Indianapolis area, an upscale restaurant there called Bella Vita has been cited with allegedly discriminating against Black patrons, in violation of Indiana’s Civil Rights Law.  The Indiana Civil Rights Commission has issued a notice of finding against the Bella Vita Restaurant in Indianapolis charging them with that there’s “probable cause to believe than an unlawful discriminatory practice occurred in violation of the Indiana Civil Rights Law”. According to the Commission’s investigation, several African-Americans visited the restaurant on July 24, 2014. According to the complaint received by the Civil Rights Commission, the “Complainant” alleges “that she waited nearly two hours before a Caucasian waitress took her order.” The Complainant then said, “After waiting for an extended period of time and observing Caucasian patrons receiving service, (she) asked the waitress about the status of her order.” Stunningly, according to the complaint, the waitress responded by using a vulgar curse word saying “I placed your (vulgar curse word) order.” The Complainantthen told the Commission that she “ultimately learned that the waitress never submitted her order to the cook. The Complainant left Bella Vita without receiving her order. The Indiana Civil Rights Commission gave Bella Vita opportunities to tell their side of the story and to refute the Complainant’s allegations.  Not only did Bella Vita not respond, according to the Commission, the restaurant didn’t even respond to a Commission subpoena requesting an answer and to provide information about the matter. The Civil Rights Commission believes that probable cause exists to be that a case of racial discrimination occurred as alleged. Under Indiana’s Civil Rights Law, the Complainant alleging discrimination must prove that 1) she is a member of a protected class; 2) The Respondent to the allegation offers its services to the public; 3) she tried to access Respondent’s services; 4) Respondent denied Complainant access to its services; and 5) Respondent treated similarly-situated patrons of another race more favorably under similar circumstances. The next step is for a public hearing to occur to determine if a violation of Indiana Civil Rights Law occurred. The case could also be heard in circuit or superior court. We’ll be following this story of alleged racial bias in one of the city’s ritziest and most upscale neighborhoods.  Read the Indiana Civil Rights Commission’s Notice of Finding in this case here: INDIANA CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION NOTICE OF FINDING IN BELLA VITA CASE