Karlos Dillard, who posts on TikTok as @thelifeofkarlos, said in a video that has drawn 1.3 million views that he and his husband, Chris, were seated at Buffalo Chip Saloon in Carefree, Arizona, around noon on August 16 and waited more than 15 minutes before anyone addressed them. In the clip, he said they had already been sitting for about 10 minutes with no approach from staff. On-screen text in that video read, “If you’re [brown to dark-skinned raised fist emoji] in Arizona don’t go to Buffalo chip in Carefree AZ.” Dillard said parties who arrived after them received drinks and food before he and Chris were even asked if they wanted water. He said a group seated next to them paid after eating, and that he asked another couple whether they had been charged before their meal. He said they told him no. He said staff then asked for his American Express Platinum card before he had eaten or drunk anything. “It’s so weird that you do not ask people for their cards before they eat their meals. That’s weird,” he said in the video. He told Chris he did not want to eat there, asked to cancel, and they left. In the caption, he wrote that this happened around noon on August 16, that he called after leaving and was promised a manager would call back, and that almost three weeks had passed with no return call. Follow-up clips questioned a lunchtime card hold and later described an attorney general review Dillard posted a series of videos over time, each answering different viewer comments. In his 2nd TikTok video, he said Western-style exteriors are common across Arizona and that he volunteers at a Black ranch in South Phoenix that looks similar from the outside. He said people should not assume from the building alone. “If I’m not welcome here, don’t waste my time and don’t waste my money,” he said. @ ♬ – A commenter wrote that Buffalo Chip is different because “they get crazy” and that the restaurant typically charges or holds a card. Dillard said holding a card at night, when the place appears to operate more like a club, would not bother him. He said this visit was a lunch before noon. “Now my question is, why wasn’t the other people’s cards held?” he said. He said he asked other diners rather than assume. He described himself and Chris as nomads who have traveled through about 35 states and several countries and who leave when they feel unwelcome. “I’m not going to give my money or give my time to a place that does not like me,” he said. He added that once people leave Phoenix city limits, options that feel welcoming to him are limited. He said a server told them holding the card was policy and that he was still waiting for the owner to call. His reply caption stated that if a policy is not consistent, it can be considered discrimination. He also said he usually supports Black-owned businesses and had seen talk of an “Arizona Green Book” for restaurants. Allegations of being ignored at restaurants are not isolated, as an Orlando Black woman confronted staff after allegedly being overlooked while the next guest was greeted immediately. @ ♬ – He said he and Chris then went to Liberty Station Tavern and Smokehouse. Dillard said they got a hello at the door and were served as soon as they sat down. He said they received water, drinks, and food in less than 20 minutes and finished the meal before paying, “like it should be.” He praised the food, including mac and cheese, and tagged Liberty Station in the original caption. In a later TikTok update, Dillard said that within 24 hours the Arizona attorney general’s office had reached back out and that an investigation had started. He named Attorney General Kris Mayes, thanked her office, and asked viewers to send screenshots or other records from the prior week of Buffalo Chip’s activity on TikTok or other platforms. He said he would forward that material and stay quiet on the subject until the review ended. “Don’t ever let anyone tell you that your voice as an American citizen is not important,” he said. The original video showed the saloon’s interior, including a bar with beer taps and cowboy hats, other patrons being served, and a sign that read, “WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE SERVICE TO ANYONE AT ANYTIME.” After they left, the clip showed a wooden building with a large bison statue on the roof. Buffalo Chip was not shown issuing a public reply in the material provided. Such incidents of racial profiling in dining establishments have occurred elsewhere, like when a Black woman in Oregon was called a thug after refusing to finish her meal of buffalo wings. Viewers reacted in the comments. One person wrote, “I wish they would put the signs up at this point.” Another wrote, “Arizona is very racist.” A third wrote, “Bank representatives here, check your transactions history for the next ten days, ain’t no telling who all got that credit card information.” Someone else wrote, “Money has no color. Ppl are hurting their own businesses by being racist.” Another commenter wrote, “Get a lawyer and sue get a bag.”