Steakhouse owner told his biracial general manager she was too ‘black’ to work there. Then she sues him hard: ‘humiliated’

A woman who spent 40 years at a Knoxville, Tennessee, restaurant group has taken her boss to federal court. Her lawsuit centers on an exchange inside a Knox County steakhouse last September.

Tammy Dawn Waller, 63, filed the complaint on Sept. 15 against Copper Cellar Corporation and its owner, Mike Chase, 79, according to documents obtained by Atlanta Black Star. She accuses them of racial discrimination and a hostile work environment, while also alleging verbal abuse, racial hostility, and retaliation.

Waller held general manager and assistant general manager roles at the group, which runs 20 East Tennessee locations. She arrived for a shift around 2 p.m. on Sept. 22, 2025, according to the complaint. Waller says Chase later stood in a doorway and asked, “What are you doing here?”

The alleged exchange at the steakhouse

Waller told him she was working. Chase allegedly answered, “They don’t like you here, you’re Black!” She replied that she is biracial. He then allegedly said, “Well, I need you off my payroll.” He added, “You’re fat, you need to get some weight off you.”

Waller said her husband likes her the way she is. Chase allegedly replied that her husband may need to lose “25, 50, 100 pounds.”

Several employees saw the exchange, the complaint says, including a manager and staff Waller supervised. Some told her she “should not have to tolerate such treatment.” The lawsuit says she was “visibly upset and humiliated.”

Chase then asked how long she had worked for him. She said 40 years. He allegedly said he was about to meet with an attorney who might speak to her. Waller took that as a veiled threat to her job.

The complaint calls the exchange “not an isolated instance of a personality conflict.” It also describes “a racially motivated act” by a man with “ultimate authority over Plaintiff’s employment.”

Waller’s filing points to earlier suits against Chase and the company. Jessica Henry, a longtime employee, sued in Knox County Chancery Court in June. WVLT reported that she alleges sexual harassment.

In April, Copper Cellar and Chase settled a suit from former server Harley Denning for an undisclosed amount. An area director testified in that case that he was aware Chase had used a racial slur in the workplace, WBIR reported. He said he did not approve of the “racial” way Chase talked about Black people.

The complaint says Chase “had a habit and routine practice” of verbally harassing staff. It says he often appeared intoxicated when he entered a restaurant. It also says managers knew but felt they could not rein in the owner. Other restaurants have faced scrutiny over how management responded when racial slurs were allegedly used. 

Courts generally consider both the severity and frequency of alleged conduct in hostile work environment claims, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Waller’s complaint points to both, citing the alleged confrontation and a broader pattern described in earlier lawsuits. Complaints about racial slurs in restaurants have surfaced in other states too, including disputes over how management responded afterward. 

Waller seeks compensatory damages of up to $1.2 million per count and punitive damages of up to $3 million per count. She also wants back pay, front pay and lost benefits. She asks the court to require anti-discrimination training and to keep Chase 1,000 feet away.

Attorneys for Copper Cellar and Chase did not immediately answer a request for comment from Atlanta Black Star. The defendants have 21 days after receiving the complaint to respond in U.S. District Court in Tennessee.