London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 12, 2025

Waitress who stopped SF tech CEO's racist rant at Carmel Valley restaurant shares what happened

A Carmel Valley waitress wasn't having it when San Francisco tech CEO Michael Lofthouse went on a racist rant over the Fourth of July holiday weekend at Lucia restaurant. She stepped in.
Gennica Cochran's story is a real-life example of "What would you do?" Without giving it a thought, Cochran says she did what was right.

"Say that again," said Jordan Chan in a video that's now gone viral.

It was those words that caught Cochran's attention.

The Carmel Valley waitress says she had been watching Lofthouse all night. She wasn't serving him but had observed him switch tables and send back food multiple times, even be rude to her manager. The final straw was when he began an expletive-laced racist rant directed towards the Orosa Chan family, who had been celebrating a birthday at a nearby table.

Cochran stepped in shouting, "You need to leave right now, get out, you are not allowed here, get out now, you do not talk to our guests like that, they are valued guests, you are not allowed here ever again!"

"To hear the emotion coming out of my voice, to see my mannerisms, it was unbelievable it was just something that came over me and I just did what needed to be done," Cochran told ABC7 News Reporter Melanie Woodrow. "I did what anybody else should or would do in that situation."

Cochran's entire life is about service. She's worked in hospitality for 20 years and has been teaching yoga for 10 years.

"I felt very protective of them," she said. "You don't come in here and say those kinds of things to people. Especially people feel so raw coming out of quarantine. Most of these people this is the first time that they've been out to dinner and then you have someone attacking them it was just no, no, I don't have time for this."

Cochran wasn't the waitress for Orosa Chan family. She was just nearby.

"I'm not a mother, but I felt almost maternal," she said. "Right, like this is my family and I will take care of them and I will do whatever I can to protect these people. To have someone hate you just because of the way that you look, that's beyond me. I don't understand it."

Cochran went on to say, "It's not something that I will condone ever again, being silent."

And she wasn't, screaming, "get out," loudly several times.

Lofthouse has issued a written statement apologizing to the family: "My behavior in the video is appalling. This was clearly a moment where I lost control and made incredibly hurtful and divisive comments. I would like to deeply apologize to the Chan family. I can only imagine the stress and pain they feel. I was taught to respect people of all races, and I will take the time to reflect on my actions and work to better understand the inequality that so many of those around me face every day."

"I think it's the standard issued apology that you get from racists," said Cochran. "People who believe those things and they get called out for them. I don't believe a word of it."

"There's no space for that and especially a CEO of a business in San Francisco, no, no," she added, referring to reports that Lofthouse is CEO of Solid8, a San Francisco-based tech company.

Cochran has a message for the Orosa Chan family: "I love you. I've got your back always. I will always speak up for you and please come back to Bernardus, I'd love to buy you a drink. And please just know that those words are not the values of the people that live here on the Monterey Peninsula."

She also has a message for you: "If you see something do something. Stand up against racism and hatred in any form any time you can."

One final message: Cochran says be kind to your servers, it's a tough job. To that end people are being very kind to her. There are at least three separate GoFundMe pages that were created on her behalf. People are also Venmo'ing her money directly. The amount is growing towards six figures. She says it'll allow her to focus more on doing what she loves, teaching yoga, but she is also giving lots of thought to how and where she can donate the money to others including in the service industry.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
×