‘Go back to your country’: Racist incident at North Vancouver café caught on camera

Surveillance video shared by Kim's Cafe in North Vancouver shows a racist confrontation with a customer.

Warning: Graphic content

There’s been an outpouring of community support for the owner of a North Vancouver café after a racist confrontation left her shaken over the weekend.

Dooyi Kim said the incident began Saturday afternoon, when a customer picked up the wrong takeout order off an unattended counter at Kim’s Café and left—only to return an hour later without the food and demand a refund.

The owner said she initially refused, arguing it was not her mistake and that she already had to make good with the customer whose food was taken, leading to the first confrontation.

“I’m going to make sure none of my police friends come here,” the customer says in surveillance video shared on the Kim’s Café Instagram page. “We will stop all business here.”

Kim said she ultimately did provide a refund, but things still escalated when the customer returned the following morning and threatened to have the owner’s immigration status investigated.

The customer also blamed the business for the previous day’s mix-up because staff do not write names on the takeout bags.

“It’s your responsibility. You should do like Starbucks,” she says in the surveillance video.

The recording then shows the woman shouting expletives on her way out of the store.

“Go back to (expletive) Korea where you belong,” she yells. “Go back to your (expletive) country.”

Kim told CTV News she’s received a lot of support from regular customers since sharing the recording online.

While Kim has not reported the incident to police, North Vancouver RCMP confirmed they are aware of the social media post and will be reaching out to the café owner.