A local events promoter, alleging racial insensitivity, is no longer working with one of uptown Charlotte’s most popular meeting spots for African Americans.

Kirk Brown, CEO of Six Figure Entertainment, sent an email blast to more than 9,000 people last week announcing that his company is no longer under contract with Therapy Marketplace & Café on north Tryon Street.

Under a headline that read, “Racist Comments End Uptown Partnership,” Brown alleged that Therapy routinely adds a 20 percent gratuity during events popular with African Americans. When Six Figure complained, the email further alleged, Therapy’s “management staff” said the practice was necessary because “African American people don’t tip.”

Adam Rees, Therapy’s general manager, denied the allegations, calling them “completely slanderous.”

“For someone to say Therapy is racist… I’m the general manager, and I’m very offended,” he told Qcitymetro.com in a telephone interview.

On the Internet, the dispute has taken on a life of its own.

Within hours of Brown’s email blast, the dustup had found its way onto Facebook, Twitter and the comments section of Qcitymetro. One recipient in Raleigh called to suggest a Qcitymetro investigation. Others called for a black boycott of Therapy.

He said, he said

As for what prompted the dispute and email, the two sides could not disagree more strongly.

Rees said Brown fired off the missive about 30 minutes after the restaurant terminated its relationship with Six Figure Entertainment. He said the two sides had been engaged in ongoing disagreements.

“The email was completely done simply because Kirk Brown was upset that he was no longer getting the large amount of money he was for promoting this place,” Rees said.

Brown, meanwhile, insists that it was he, not the restaurant, who terminated the partnership.

Brown said he began working under contract with Therapy about three weeks ago to attract more African Americans. He said management there was concerned that other uptown venues were draining away Therapy’s black clientele.

Almost immediately, both sides agree, problems arose.

Brown said he complained to Therapy’s owners about dirty bathrooms, inadequate air conditioning, poor customer service and high food and drink prices.

“I was receiving comments from my patrons,” he said. “I’m all about pleasing people. I’m all about customer service. That’s very, very important to me. So when they are being mistreated, we will fight against that.”

Brown said he also passed along concerns, expressed to him by customers, that Therapy was adding a 20 percent gratuity to individual bills.

It was then, Brown said, that a female manager told him the mandatory gratuity was needed because “African Americans don’t tip.” Brown said he challenged the woman to repeat what he said he heard, but she refused.

He called her alleged statement “the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Brown said the manager’s statement was the only example of overt racism he encountered. But he listed other examples in which he said Therapy managers showed general insensitivity.

Reese, the general manager, disputes Brown’s account of what the female manager said.

“That’s absurd,” he said. “I know she would not say that. She knows she would be fired if she said that…. I want people to know that we are not a racist establishment by any means.”

A mandatory gratuity

Rees said Therapy does, at times, add a 20 percent gratuity to the checks of its patrons, but he said the practice is done across the board and has nothing to do with race.

He said the gratuity is added whenever the restaurant is under contract with a promoter, such as Brown, and is hosting a “closed door” party or event.

Rees said the restaurant works with numerous promoters and that 90 percent are African American.

“It’s very rare that we have a Caucasian promoter come in, and we encourage that,” he said.

Ynique Williams is one Therapy patron who recently complained to management about the mandatory gratuity.

Williams said she went with friends to the restaurant on July 24. She said that given the small size of her party – four people – she was surprised to see any gratuity at all added to her bill.

Williams said that when she complained, a woman who identified herself as the manager “snatched the receipt” and left. When the woman returned, Williams said, a verbal confrontation ensued.

Williams said the woman demanded to know if she had planned to leave a tip and said 20 percent was the required amount.

“It got to the point where this woman argued with me to the point that I looked at her and said, ‘Why are you arguing with me about my bill and my money?’” Williams said.

Williams said the mandatory gratuity eventually was removed from her bill, but only after she threatened to appeal the charge to her credit card company.

Rees said he was unfamiliar with Williams’ allegations.

Although Therapy routinely hosts “closed door” events, Rees said, outsiders such as Williams typically are allowed to enter, based on the wishes of individual promoters.

A closed-door event, he said, essentially means that the restaurant is being rented out to the promoter and his guests. It is up to the promoter, he said, to decide who enters or whether a cover charge will be assessed.

Brown, however, insists that his events at Therapy were never “closed door,” and as such, he said, they should not have been subjected to the mandatory gratuity.

When asked if outside guests are informed of the closed-door events or the 20 percent gratuity, Rees said they are informed “if they ask.”

An unanswered complaint

In the last three years, the Charlotte Better Business Bureau has received one customer complaint against Therapy Café. That complaint, dated Aug. 16, 2007, alleges “unsatisfactory customer service, including personnel’s failure to provide assistance in a timely manner, failure to address or respond to customer dissatisfaction, unavailability for customer support, and/or inappropriate behavior or attitude exhibited by company staff.”

The Better Business Bureau received eight complaints against Therapy since 2004, said bureau spokeswoman Janet Hart. None alleged racism.

The BBB’s website shows that Therapy currently has an “F” rating. Hart said the rating stems from the fact that Therapy did not respond to the 2007 complaint, which results in an automatic failing grade.

“An unanswered complaint is the most serious complaint a company has with the Better Business Bureau…” she said. “When they simply don’t answer us, that’s completely unacceptable.”

Hart said that of the eight complaints filed against Therapy since 2004, two went unanswered.

In addition to the 20 percent gratuity, Williams also told Qcitymetro that she and her friends received poor service at the restaurant.

After Williams and her party were seated, she said, at least 15 minutes passed before someone came to their table to take drink orders. And after their food was served, she said, no wait staff returned, “…not for water, not for dessert, anything.”

Williams said she could not say for certain whether race played a factor in her experience.

Rees said he was unfamiliar with Williams’ complaint.

No common ground

As for allegations of racism, Rees said Brown’s email has had “intense negative repercussions” on the restaurant’s business. He said he and the restaurant’s owners are reviewing their legal options.

Therapy has a long history of working with African American promoters and events, he said, including events surrounding the annual CIAA basketball tournament. Rees said he takes personally any allegations that a restaurant he manages would engage in racist practices.

“If there was ever a whispers of racism or discrimination in Therapy Café,” he said, “the person who was responsible would be fired on the spot. It is not tolerated.”

Brown, meanwhile, said he has no regrets about raising the issue of race.

“It was justified,” he said. “I don’t regret the decisions I make because I think them through. The simple fact is, it’s the truth. I was raised to stand for what I believe in.”
 

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