CHESAPEAKE, Va. — The owners of Cork & Bull Chophouse, the Chesapeake restaurant being sued by nine Black women for $5 million on allegations of racial discrimination, said in a statement Friday that the are enduring a "false attack" and plan to challenge.
Shakoya Somerville-Holt, one of the plaintiffs, told News 3 in a previous interview that the incident happened when she and eight friends were having dinner at the restaurant on Nov. 6, 2025.
Shortly after, Somerville-Holt said two other Black women at a nearby table got into a fight. Despite not knowing the women involved in the altercation, Somerville-Holt said restaurant management also told her group they had to leave.
Watch: Woman who witnessed Cork & Bull fight describes the incident
In an "open letter to all past and future clients" of the restaurant, Cork & Bull owner Robert "Brian" Mullins wrote that he supports his staff after spending months reviewing restaurant footage of the incident.
"We chose not to go back and forth in the media and instead spent the past 80+ days reviewing our cameras and investigating how our staff reacted, right or wrong, and what was said," the statement reads. "This investigation provided evidence in overwhelming support of the decisions made by our team that evening."
All the women in Sommerville-Holt's group were dressed in white tops and denim bottoms, making them "visibly distinguishable from all other patrons," according to the lawsuit filed against Cork & Bull.
"The management came over to our table and told us that they will not be servicing us tonight, that we had to leave," Somerville-Holt said in a previous interview with News 3. "I questioned, 'are you shutting the entire restaurant down for tonight?' 'No, we're just not serving you all, because y'all like to fight.'"
After police arrived, they confirmed the women had no involvement in the fight and allowed them to collect their things.
According to the lawsuit, Dallas Walton, a Cork & Bull chef, approached the women aggressively while they were gathering their belongings and said, "I run this [expletive]" and "Get the [expletive] out."
In Mullin's statement, he wrote that substantial damage has been done to the restaurant's reputation and revenue.
"Numerous threats to the staff were called in, threatening emails were sent and 'staged' protests outside the restaurant were coordinated to disrupt our service," the statement reads.
Watch related: Protest outside of Cork & Bull following fight incident
Mullin wrote that he provided an opportunity to the nine women to sit down and discuss the actions by both groups that evening, but the offer was refused.
Joyvan Malbon-Griffin, the attorney representing the nine women said Cork & Bull offered to have the meeting in the restaurant, but the women refused because they said the restaurant is a traumatizing place for them.
At least one of the nine women was treated medically for stress, and others sought out counseling because of the incident, according to the lawsuit.
"Many of them still have not dined out, even in the holiday season, for fear that that same incident could happen again," Malbon-Griffin said.
Malbon-Griffin offered to meet in their place, but she said this counteroffer was never responded to.
Mullins continued to write that he looks forward to "the total vindication of everyone on the Cork & Bull team" in connection to the incident.
The plaintiffs are seeking $5 million in damages for malicious and reckless conduct.
"Those that have known my wife and myself for the past 40+ years, know we operate our businesses without regard to race, sex or age employing hundreds of families. For our family to be called racists, you do not know us."
Following release Cork & Bull's statement Friday, News 3 Chesapeake reporter Erin Holly reached Malbon-Griffin, who said she has seen and acknowledged Cork and Bull’s statement.
Malbon-Griffin responded that Mullins' statement that the women declined an invite is a false and unfair, that she responded to the invite to say the women don’t feel comfortable going back into the restaurant after what happened. Malbon-Griffen says she offered to go in and have the discussion with the owners on their behalf and the owners did not respond.
