British Colonial Co
The restaurant celebrates the "stylish days" of the British Empire British Colonial Co

A restaurant in Australia has been accused of racism for its British Empire theme. Many have taken to Twitter to accuse British Colonial Co of romanticising the colonial era after they said they were celebrating the "stylish days" of the British Empire.

Since then, British Colonial Co has withdrawn its promotional material, which described the restaurant as being "inspired by the empirical push into the developing cultures of the world". The restaurant has since said that it is "saddened" by the media reports accusing it of racism and has insisted that was not their aim.

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"We are very proud of our brand, dining experience and the loyal clientele we have established." A statement from British Colonial Co read. "We are therefore upset and saddened by today's media reports that our brand is causing offence and distress to some members of the community. This certainly was not our intention."

However, the damage appears to have already been done, with thousands taking to social media to comment on the theme. Some even amended the British Colonial Co's posters to reflect their views on the age of the British Empire.

Others mocked the restaurant for their use of the word "empirical".

According to the BBC, the heavy social-media backlash has prompted the restaurant to change their tagline, which originally read: "Inspired by the stylish days of the empirical push into the developing cultures of the world, with the promise of adventure and modern refinement in a safari setting."

British Colonial Co's tagline now reads: "A redefined and modern dining experience with the adventure of east meets west in a plantation style, club setting."

On 13 July, the restaurant posted on Facebook to explain the motive behind their interior design, using the quote, "The sun never sets on the British Empire". However, the British Colonial Co isn't the first restaurant in Australia to come under fire for racism this year.

In July, a Vietnamese restaurant in Queensland called Uncle Ho caused offence due to being named after communist North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh. The restaurant was forced to shut down after protests against it.

Racism