As the Central West End, Midtown and Downtown continue their sprawling renewal, colored with nightlife, some blacks say they don’t always feel welcome at some white-owned clubs in the city.
African-American club-hoppers allege that some clubs try to turn them away with anti-urban dress codes, the absence of hip-hop music and cognac (a liqueur popular with blacks), unequal pricing for drinks and even the requirement of being on a guest list that doesn’t actually exist.
“Most of the clubs have issues about black men – not black women,” said local bouncer Charles Moore.
Moore said the owner of Lush – a new Midtown restaurant/club located at 3037 Olive St. – told its doorman that if a large number of black men come to the door they should be told that the club is hosting a private party and that their names are not on the guest list.
For a large group of white men, he said, the doorman was told to ask for their names, pretend to look at a list, then tell them their names are on the list.
Big Chuck also said the club plays limited hip-hop, doesn’t serve cognac and gives white people a pass on the dress code.
The manager of Lush, Matt Ratz, categorically denied Big Chuck’s charges and threatened a lawsuit if any of his the former bouncer’s comments were published.
“That’s totally incorrect,” said Ratz.
“That wouldn’t make much business sense because they (African Americans) spend money like everyone else.”
Big Chuck is simply disgruntled that he got fired, according to Ratz.
Ratz said the club does have an actual guest list when it gets crowded, has and equally enforces a dress code, serves cognac as bottle-service only and plays more hip-hop than anything.
“It’s a classy establishment,” Ratz said, “So you establish your demographic, and you target it.”
Ratz pointed out that the nearby, black-owned Loft nightclub has a dress code, which it does.
As for the guest list, Ratz said it consists of the owner’s personal clientele, regulars and big spenders, as designated by servers and bartenders.
Lush is not the only local club accused by some black patrons of being less than welcoming of their business.
Three local promoters, communicating on a MySpace internet message board, described less-than-favorable experiences at Dolce, a Downtown club located at 200 N. Broadway.
Dolce’s general manager painted a different picture.
“Dolce and its management want to emphasize that African Americans and members of all races are welcome and encouraged to stop by,” GM Jaime Bottems said on a conference call with the club’s legal representation.
“Anyone who feels that they have been treated improperly in any manner should contact me personally and I will quickly investigate the matter and take any and all appropriate actions,” Bottems said.
Bottems may be reached at (314) 621-0407.
Other, similar incidents have been reported at Savor, a restaurant/bar located at 4356 Lindell Blvd. in the Central West End. Phone calls made to Savor’s owner, Jonathan Schoen, on Tuesday and Wednesday were not returned by press time.
While some African Americans frequent white-owned clubs in the area, the social scene reflects the city’s largely segregated racial climate. For the most part, blacks go to black clubs and whites go to white clubs.
Celebrity performers and athletes often bring the races together when they throw parties, however, and local party promoters often draw black patrons to white clubs.
“Policies and procedures that continue to keep people of color out is a ripple effect from companies and corporations,” said Reggie Williams, director of community policy for FOCUS St. Louis and the Bridges Across Racial Polarization program, a group that brings races together for happy hours and other meetings to discuss issues of race.
“This racism is a hundred years old in some cases, so the question becomes: how can we as a city and society move forward?” Williams said.
“There are a lot of young professionals here who want to do work, but if we aren’t attacking policy and procedure and institutional racism, they will tend to leave and that will draw away from our talent pool.”