A Mexico City-themed bar in Houston is facing backlash after a woman claims the establishment racially discriminated against her.
On May 20, Rosa Melendez (@rosamelendezs) posted a TikTok describing her experience at Eleven Eleven. The video has amassed over 183,700 views as of this writing.
“So, this past Saturday, I was racially discriminated against,” says Melendez.
How Does She Say Eleven Eleven Discriminated Against Her?
She says that she and her partner had a reservation, but a bouncer told them the bar was at capacity. “When he and I took a step back, we noticed that they were still allowing people in,” she says. “And no, they were not Hispanic.”
Melendez says that the bouncer looked her and her partner up and down in a “belittling” way before denying them entry. “The way he looked at me or looked at my partner,” she says. “It was as if we were the bottom of the barrel.”
She says that this was especially disappointing, as she was excited when she learned a new Mexico City-themed restaurant had opened in town, eager to support the Hispanic community.
She explains that she did not plan to post the video. However, she decided to do so after discovering that the establishment had deleted her Google review. “I left countless reviews,” she adds. “They erased all of them.”
How Easy Is It for Businesses to Delete Google Reviews?
Google reviews have become one of the most important tools for restaurants, bars, and other establishments, but many customers are often surprised by how easily a review can disappear.
According to Google’s official Business Profile guidelines, business owners cannot directly delete reviews themselves. However, they can flag reviews for removal if they believe the content violates Google’s policies. This can include comments flagged for spam, harassment, hate speech, off-topic commentary, or fake engagement. Once a review is flagged, Google’s automated moderation systems typically determine whether the review stays public.
Because much of the moderation process is automated, Google can sometimes remove reviews incorrectly or hide them without explanation. Industry experts note that Google’s system is heavily rule-based and often relies on algorithms rather than detailed investigations into each complaint.
Reviews may disappear if they contain certain keywords, repeated copy-and-paste language, accusations that cannot be verified, or if Google’s spam filters mistakenly interpret multiple reviews from one account as suspicious behavior.
Google has also increased moderation efforts in recent years due to widespread abuse involving fake reviews. In 2024, Google publicly cracked down on fraudulent review activity and began removing reviews tied to coordinated attacks or manipulation campaigns.
Consumers who want to reduce the likelihood of their reviews disappearing are advised to keep reviews factual, specific, and free of insults or exaggerated accusations. Including details such as dates, reservation times, receipts, photos, or descriptions of interactions can help establish credibility.
AllHipHop reached out to Melendez for comment via TikTok direct message and email, and to Eleven Eleven via email.
@rosamelendezs I know there’s a lot of bigger issues happening in today’s world, I just wanted to share my experience for anyone that wanted to visit
♬ original sound – Rosa Melendez
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