Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964[1] outlawing segregation based on race, color, religion, or national origin in all public accommodations engaged in interstate commerce, including restaurants.

The court ruled unanimously that the Civil Rights Act is constitutional and that it was properly applied against Ollie's Barbecue.

The Court gave the greatest weight to evidence that segregation in restaurants had a "direct and highly restrictive effect upon interstate travel by Negroes."

In Section 5 of the decision, the Court affirmed previous decisions that Congress has the authority to regulate local intrastate activities if the activities significantly affect interstate commerce in the aggregate, citing United States v. Wrightwood Dairy Co., Wickard v. Filburn, Gibbons v. Ogden, and United States v. Darby Lumber Co.

The appellees objected to Congress' approach in determining what affects commerce, the court held, “Where we find that the legislators, in light of the facts and testimony before them, have a rational basis for finding a chosen regulatory scheme necessary to the protection of commerce, our investigation is at an end.” After decades in operation, Ollie's Barbecue moved to the suburb of Pelham in 1999 and closed in 2001.