GOLDSBORO, N.C. (WNCN) — A receipt at a Japanese steakhouse in Goldsboro is getting a lot of attention.

A post on social media not only shared a photo of the $71.38 bill with no tip, but it also included the message that employees said was offensive to both the business and people in the Asian community.

“An incident like this shouldn’t color the people that support this place. I think we’re better than that,” said Erik Defibaugh.

Defibaugh was among customers who chose to dine at Wafu Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar in an effort to show support after the post gained attention over the weekend.

Justin Fulcher, who also shared his support by dining at the restaurant Monday night, said, “They don’t deserve that. They’re just trying to make a living and they do a really good job at it.”

Xin Lin, the owner of the restaurant, said employees weren’t aware of the message written on the receipt until late Saturday night.

“We didn’t see it right away because it happened on a Saturday night and we’re really busy,” Lin said. “I’ve told my employees, their job is to focus on customers — it’s not to focus on tips.”

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Lin said he opened Wafu Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar about a year ago. Overall, he said the Goldsboro community has continued to welcome the business and customers have been great. He said that same response has reassured the business that they’re not alone.

“I really do appreciate everybody in our community and the local people. Their support means a lot for us.”

Because the message that was written on the receipt was not a crime, Lin explained that it’s left the business with few options with how they can respond.

“I can see why our Asian community is mad because there’s nothing we can do,” said Lin. “If there was another customer that walked in and did the same thing, there’s nothing we can do.”

Since the issue has gained so much attention from people on social media, Lin said he reached out to a lawyer and Goldsboro police. With recent Asian hate speech and crimes across the country, Lin continues to keep the safety of his employees and customers a priority.

“That’s our biggest concern. I don’t care about the financial loss, I don’t care if we speak up for ourselves and we lose potential business. I don’t really care about any of that, but safety can’t be replaced and if something happens, there’s no way I can recover,” Lin said.

Lin is still unsure why the message was left on the receipt, but he is aware that the customer has dined at the restaurant several times. Lin said the customer had also been briefly employed at the restaurant shortly after they opened.

“She worked for a couple hours, she didn’t finish her training, and then she disappeared,” Lin said. “Was it really our service that went wrong, our food quality went down, or anything related to, and I don’t get an answer from our employees or her.”

Lin said they’ve received comments from the customer who claimed the message was not intended to be racist or offensive to the Asian community. The owner also said a family member apologized, but Lin said they have not received an official apology from the customer who wrote the message on the receipt. Until then, he said the restaurant is allowed to refuse service. CBS17 worked to get in touch with the customer but has not had a response yet.

While Lin hopes not to escalate the issue, he is hopeful that more can be done to prevent offensive statements toward minority groups. Customers like Justin Fulcher are also hopeful that their support for the restaurant will send a more positive message. He included,

“We need to hold each other accountable for that but not be hateful about it — not be hateful to the people who were hateful,” Fulcher said. “Even if they didn’t like something or it didn’t go the way they thought, that’s not how we should act. We should treat everyone with respect and kindness.”

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