Granted, Lola's Burrito Joint in Jacksonville has since changed the name of its original 'Wetback Willie" to "Wet Willie" after receiving criticism from customers on Facebook for the original name.
Local news did a piece about Lola's this week, and the piece has gone around the Internet, appearing on several outlets such as HuffPost. It is interesting to note that the owner suggested that the original name for the burrito was provided by an employee who liked to call himself "Wetback Willie."
Nonetheless, Lola's did something that many businesses should be doing with its customers: it responded to the criticism, and fairly quickly. Here is what the owners posted on Facebook in June:
As always here at Carmines and Lola’s we believe that all are created equal, WE HATE LABELS….. AND IF A CHANGE CAN BE MADE TO HELP, OR MAKE ANOTHER FELLOW HUMAN BEING FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE WITH OUT HARMING OR HURTING ANY ONE ELSE THEN IT SHOULD BE DONE. THE NEW MENU THAT WILL BE EASIER TO READ AND WILL HAVE MORE ITEMS REQUESTED BY OUR FELLOW RIVERSIDIANS, WILL BE OUT NEXT WEEK…..WE WILL BE CHANGING THE 'WET BACK WILLIE' TO 'WET WILLIE', WE WANT ALL TO BE RESPECTED….JUST FOR LAUGHS, IT WAS NAMED AFTER OUR AMERICAN DISHWASHER, WILLIE, WHO’S SELF PROCLAIMED NICK NAME IS 'WET BACK WILLIE'….HE GETS WATER EVERYWHERE……WE DEAL WITH IT CAUSE HE IS THE BEST DISHWASHER/PREP PERSON WE HAVE EVER SEEN….AND A GOOD GUY TO BOOT….HE SUGGESTED SOUR CREAM IN THE FINAL RECIPE. THE 'SHRIMP BUT NO PAPERS' WAS NAMED BECAUSE WE TRY TO BUY LOCAL FROM SMALL PURVEYORS FOR OUR SEAFOOD AND GATOR. WE HAD TO COLLECT ALL OF THEIR PAPERS IN ORDER TO SELL THERE PRODUCT….
WE THANK EVERY ONE FOR THEIR COMMENTS…..GOOD BAD OR OTHERWISE……..IF WE DON’T ALL COMMUNICATE, WE CANT GROW CLOSER AND LIVE IN PEACE…
TTFN CARMINE, CARLOS AND KEVIN
Hey, we get it and we tend to say the owners learned from all this and probably became a better business because of it, even though some of the other menu items might still seem a bit too much. However, we commend any business that tries to respond and be honest about it. Could it have been a simple mistake? Maybe. Did they lack a bit of education as to the fact that the word "wetback" is offensive to some? Yes. (Think about it, would you ask us to ligthen up if the food item included other racial slurs?) In the end, they got their feedback, gave a reason, and made changes to their menu. We would think that the next time, they might not be so "witty" at the start. They can probably start by telling Wetback Willie the dishwasher to get a new nickname.
