A Houston couple claims a Meyerland Becks Prime employee wrote a racial slur on the back of their receipt and appeared to laugh in response to their outrage as the popular local restaurant chain confirms to KPRC 2 News two employees have now been fired.
Melanie Mathews and LaToya Harris-Mathews say they were dining at the Becks Prime location in Meyerland on Aug. 16 when they found the N-word written in red on the back of their receipt. The couple is sharing details of the experience exclusively with KPRC 2 News.
The couple had been shopping for a birthday gift when they decided to stop for a burger at Beck’s Prime — a place they describe as a regular spot.
After ordering and finding a seat, LaToya noticed something unusual on the back of their receipt.
“I was in shock because I flipped it and when I flipped it over, she was still eating and I looked at her and I froze,” LaToya said. “It was very traumatizing for me. I cried all the way home.”
The couple confronted staff, and said an employee admitted to writing the slur. They say he then appeared to laugh.
“He said that this is just something we do in the kitchen,” Melanie added.
The two say they were the only African American customers in the restaurant when it happened, questioning whether it happened to another customer before.
“You see stories like this all the time,” Melanie said. “We just never thought that we would be on this end of it.”
A spokesperson for Becks Prime called the incident “deeply troubling,” confirming the employee responsible was fired the same evening. A second employee was terminated following an internal review.
“We are deeply troubled by what two of our guests experienced at our Meyerland location on August 16th. Discriminatory language and conduct have no place at Becks Prime, and we do not tolerate them. We acted immediately upon learning what happened. The employee responsible was terminated that evening. That same night, we called to apologize for the employee’s behavior and let them know the employee was no longer part of the organization. After an extensive internal review, a second employee was also terminated. Since 1985, we have built Becks Prime on hospitality, respect, and kindness on both sides of the counter. We will continue working with our teams to uphold that standard. We are sorry for the hurt this caused our guests and our community,” a spokesperson for Becks Prime told KPRC 2 News.
The couple says a Becks Prime representative called within 15 minutes of them leaving the restaurant, offering gift cards and flowers — a gesture LaToya says felt more like damage control than a sincere apology.
“You think flowers and a gift card is gonna — I didn’t ask for a gift. I was paying. I’d already paid for my food,” LaToya said.
The couple has since retained civil rights attorney Courtney Vincent of Vincent Law PLLC, who says the restaurant’s response has fallen short and is preparing to file a lawsuit.
“What I have seen is that they have tried to mitigate their damages extensively,” Vincent said. “Here we are in 2026 and the worst of the worst of the racial epitaphs is handed over to the Mathews.”
Vincent says she plans to file suit if Becks Prime does not negotiate in good faith. She said the company needs to better vet employees and train them on race relations.
“This is beyond not appropriate to me,” Vincent said. She urged anyone in a similar situation to document everything and to preserve any evidence.
The Mathews say they hope speaking out leads to real change — not just at Becks Prime, but industrywide.
“This is not how you treat customers that are long-time customers that come here and patronize your business,” LaToya said.
“I think that they need to give a training class at your establishment to your whole entire company on how you handle customers,” LaToya said. “This is something you should never allow to happen in any place.”
