Yes and no. Businesses that are considered "places of public accommodation" (which includes restaurants) aren't allowed to refuse to serve anyone on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin. This means, for example, that it is against the law to refuse to deliver to areas just because they are predominantly minority. However, you have a right to protect yourself and your employees from robbery.

The good news is that violent crimes, like robbery, don't happen everywhere. In a lot of cities, including Newark, most violent crime happens in certain small areas. You don't have to deliver to these very dangerous areas. The hard part is figuring out where exactly they are.

The national pizza chain Domino's recently reached a settlement with the United States federal government after an African-American woman in Fayetteville, North Carolina claimed that Domino's was denying her delivery service because of her race. The results are detailed policies called the "Limited Delivery Service Standard" and the "Delivery Area Security Procedure Manual." These documents describe how to identify these extremely dangerous areas:

• talk to the police about the area in question, and if possible, get crime statistics
• talk to your employees, especially those who are most familiar with the area
• talk to representatives from businesses and community groups in the area
• go to the area, look around, take notes and pictures
• see if other businesses and residents in the area are using security devices such as bars on windows and roll-down grates over doors and windows

This may seem like a lot of work, but remember that even in very high-crime areas, most of the people are law-abiding. It's worthwhile to make certain you are not cutting off a large group of potential customers just because where they live might seem dangerous.