Sports bar settles suit alleging racial discrimination

The Justice Department has settled a discrimination suit involving a Midtown sports bar that denied admission to black, Latino and Asian patrons.

The bar and lounge, now named 360 Midtown but formerly operating as the Gaslamp, selectively imposed charges or enforced a dress code against people based on race, according to the settlement.

“This settlement resolves serious allegations of racial discrimination,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick said Thursday. “The announcement today should make clear that any such illegal bias in these types of establishments will not be tolerated in this district and reflects my office’s continued commitment to vigorously enforcing our nation’s civil rights laws.”

“No individuals should be denied admission to any place of public accommodation because of the color of their skin,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

The bar owner agreed to cease these discriminatory practices and begin monitoring employees to make sure they comply with the agreement.

“My clients are satisfied,” said Ike Okorafor, one of three attorneys representing the three AfricanAmerican men who were charged a cover to enter the bar. “You can’t sit down and take discrimination. It wasn’t about the money but more about the treatment of minorities and making sure this doesn’t happen to anybody else.”

He declined to disclose any financial portion of the settlement.

Attorney Tim Sutherland, who represents the bar, declined Thursday afternoon to comment.

As part of the settlement, the bar must put a printed sign at each public entrance stating “the establishment is open to all members of the public without regard to race, color, or national origin,” according to court documents. This same information must also be displayed on any print or other advertising for the bar, as well as the establishment’s Facebook page.

A testing program will also be created to monitor the bar’s compliance with the settlement and federal public accommodation laws. The bar will be tested a total of 12 times.

The lawsuit accused the bar of forcing AfricanAmerican, Latino and Asian-American patrons to pay a $10 to $20 cover charge before they could enter the business at Brazos and Hadley streets.

The owner, Ayman Jarrah, and his company, did not require a similar cover charge for white patrons, according to court documents.

Federal prosecutors said previously that photographs appearing on social media promoting Gaslamp showed white customers wearing clothing similar to that worn by black patrons who were weren’t allowed in.

“At the time of the incident, Gaslamp did not have a dress code posted and the Gaslamp website did not contain a dress code,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit cites a Sept. 11, 2015, incident where three African-American customers were told they couldn’t enter the threestory nightclub unless they paid a $20 cover charge while white patrons were allowed to enter the premises for free.

The patrons, who are all attorneys, sued the bar and its owner, saying they were “deeply offended by this racist and discriminatory treatment.”

Brandon Ball, Dan Scarbrough and Ken Piggee said that when they approached the doors of Gaslamp, the doormen told them that to enter they had to pay $20.

Deciding against it, the trio went to a nearby bar and later walked by Gaslamp.

“We’re looking, and there are white people going in and getting their hands stamped,” Ball told the Chronicle in 2015. “They were going in and not paying anything.”