A South Carolina man accused of slapping an intoxicated teenage hostess three times in the forehead at a Walt Disney World Resort restaurant is scheduled to make his first court appearance next month. Restaurant dress code.
John Munro, 64, was arrested and charged with assault after getting into an argument with a 19-year-old hostess at Citricos at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort in November.
Munro is no stranger to luxury hotels, serving as vice president of hospitality, sales and marketing at the prestigious Sea Pines Resort in Hilton Head, where he lives, according to Walt Disney World News Today.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by Fox 35 Orlando on November 19, 2023, Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the resort in reference to a shooting.
A preliminary investigation revealed that just before 7:30 p.m., a restaurant hostess was checking in a family of three who had booked a reservation.
However, the group arrived with 4 people. 2 women and 2 men.
According to arrest records, one of the men, identified as Munroe, was wearing clothing that did not comply with the restaurant’s dress code.
He was wearing swim shorts and a T-shirt, and Citricos’ website states that “guests are expected to dress in a manner that respects the restaurant’s sophisticated, upscale aesthetic,” and swimsuits are permitted. It was explicitly added that it had not been done.
The report said Munro was told by a hostess that he would not be allowed to dine with his family because he was wearing “swimming trunks and a T-shirt.”
Mr. Munro seemed understanding, but said he would wait until the group was seated.
The hostess agreed to his request, but the situation escalated when she ushered the group to their seats shortly thereafter.
Deputies said Munroe followed the party of three to a table even though they were told he wasn’t allowed.
According to the affidavit, one of the women told the hostess, “Please don’t let him sit with us. He’s really drunk and he’s not wearing any clothes and it’s embarrassing because it’s my birthday.” “It is,” he is said to have said.
When the hostess told Munroe that she could not be with the group, Munroe “began repeatedly hitting her in the forehead” while identifying her name from the name tag on her shirt, deputies said.
Police said the hostess was not injured but refused medical treatment and wanted to press charges.
Police said Munro was clearly intoxicated due to his “slurred speech, shiny red eyes, and constant repetition that he was going to sue Disney,” according to an arrest affidavit. .
Munroe was arrested and released the next morning on $1,000 bail.
Karen Morahan, a spokeswoman for the resort, confirmed to the Island Packet and the Beaufort Gazette on Thursday that the resort has been placed on administrative leave “while this personnel matter is being considered.”
Surveillance footage from the restaurant was not available, but prosecutors plan to use police body camera footage of the incident, according to Florida court records.
Mr Munro has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to appear at a pre-trial conference on February 16th.
