AUBURN, Maine (AP)   An IHOP manager in Auburn, Maine, is issuing a public apology after a server asked a group of black teenagers to pay upfront for their meal.

Manager Melvin Escobar told the Sun Journal newspaper that “this is the first time it happened, and that will be the last time.”

The incident on Sunday came to the attention of Escobar after a young man from Monmouth posted about it on Facebook.

Escobar said he believes the server’s actions were not racially motivated, but that she was worried the kids would duck out on the $100 bill. He said the restaurant recently had some problems with teenagers walking out without paying.