Church's Texas Chicken — Restaurant in Phoenix

To Whom It May Concern,

On Wednesday, September 17, 2025, between 3:30 PM and 3:46 PM, I visited the drive-thru at Church’s Chicken, 5901 W. Camelback Road, Phoenix, Arizona.

When I first arrived, I spoke with a young male employee about redeeming a coupon printed on my receipt. The coupon stated: “You may receive a leg, thigh, or a chicken tender strip.” The employee told me that a “thigh, comma, leg” means “or,” and he seemed irritated by my clarification of the wording. Although he initially appeared willing to serve me, he then noticed that the receipt I presented was not from that particular store and refused to honor it.

I then stepped aside, located a valid receipt from this very store, and returned through the drive-thru with the correct validation code. At that point, another employee, Maria Cotto-Vorella (wearing glasses and appearing to be a manager), came to the window. When I attempted to redeem the coupon for one free thigh, she told me: “I don’t have any free thighs for you.”

Confused, I asked her: “What does that mean? Do you not serve Black people?” She responded: “Yes, we do not serve Black people.”

I then repeated her words back to her to confirm what I had just heard. Maria repeated it back to me, saying again: “No, we don’t serve you. Your kind.”

This was not a misunderstanding or miscommunication, it was a direct statement of racial discrimination. I was denied food, even though I had a valid receipt, and I was explicitly told, twice, that service was refused because of my race.

This incident is a clear violation of my civil rights under both Arizona and federal law.

I am demanding: A formal written apology from Church’s Chicken corporate and from the 5901 W. Camelback Road location. A thorough investigation into this incident, with confirmation of disciplinary measures taken against the employees involved, especially Maria Cotto-Vorella. Compensation for the humiliation, emotional distress, and discriminatory treatment I experienced. A written plan detailing how Church’s Chicken will provide mandatory anti-discrimination training to all employees at this location.

If this matter is not addressed promptly, I will be taking the following actions: • Filing a formal complaint with the Arizona Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. • Consulting with legal counsel regarding a civil rights lawsuit. • Contacting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to ensure that every employee at this location is legally authorized to work in the United States. Every worker in this country is expected to follow the laws of this country, and every customer, regardless of race, is entitled to equal service in a public restaurant.

This issue is serious, and I expect a timely written response.

Respectfully, A...

This evening I came through the churches drive-thru to purchase dinner for my family and I. I was asked to wait (which was approximately 10 minutes) to place my order when there was no other cars in the drive thru. When I placed my order I was told that I would have to wait 10 minutes for the chicken to fry, which was fine. When I approached the window I paid for my order and during the process of waiting I observed that there was a bag with a Box and a corn on the cob. I was hoping that that was not part of my order since I was asked to wait for fresh chicken. During the time I was waiting I also observed that the person in charge by the name of "Pamela" was cleaning the counters and speaking on her cell phone at the same time. After waiting 30 minutes I honk my horn to see how much longer I would have to wait for the chicken to be ready. When I honked "Pamela" walked to the back of the store on her phone and drop fresh fries. Then I had to wait for another 5 mins for her to bag the orders and for the fries to be ready so when she approached the window and handed me my food she also handed me the bag that had been sitting on the counter for over 30 minutes with the corn on the cob and a Box of chicken. When I told "Pamela" that I didn't want the chicken since it had been waiting on the counter and was not fresh she looked at me and said, "The chicken just came out of the fryer" after I had observed when I pulled up to the drive-thru that it had not just came out of the fryer. Worst Customer...

ive came to this location at least 5 times a week and not once i have i seen any insects or animals, the staff is really helpful and friendly, the food is always fresh many times ive hat to wait for at least 15 minutes but that's normal this place in not burger king where everything is already made, what people don't seem to understand is that yes its a fast food restaurant but unlike bk mcdonalds jack in the box....etc you will always get your food fresh, church's are family restaurants if you are looking to have a family get together your first instinct on feeding your guest is church's chicken not mcdonalds nor BK so yes food will run out when they have 8 customers with family meals take that into consideration sometimes most of the comments here are extremely over the top lying i can guarantee you that. i love this church's and all the employees are...