



MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- A popular bar on Milwaukee's East Side reopened Monday, May 4th. The bar was closed for a few nights after an incident this weekend that has some calling for a boycott.



Former Two Bucks employees and former customers were among those hanging posters on the East Side Sunday. They are urging the community to boycott the popular bar after a group of African-American patrons claim they experienced racism by the bar's owner.



A Facebook group encouraging the boycott had more than 2,000 "likes" by Monday afternoon.





two bucks3





"The bar should be closed down," Robert Redd said.



Redd is a former Two Bucks bouncer. He says he was working at the bar on Friday night, May 1st when he says the bar's owner made insensitive and racist comments.



"I was hurt," Redd said. "She made a statement 'do you stand behind blacks or do you stand behind the bar?' And I made a comment -- 'I stand behind what`s right.'"



Redd says on several occasions, he was ordered to escort African-Americans out of the bar for no apparent reason.



"There were two African-American males paying for the juke box. She wanted them out. Then she kicked out a group of African-American males stating that they were being suspicious and drinking too slow. Then the third incident -- had a group of African-American females come up. She said 'these people are not getting in my bar,'" Redd said.



FOX6 News spoke with a customer who says she was discriminated against on Friday night.



"She asked us to leave and told us that we were too ghetto to be there," the customer said.





Two Bucks





What allegedly happened at the bar on Friday night led to customers leaving, employees quitting, and a social media campaign being launched calling for a boycott of Two Bucks.



A former Two Bucks bar manager says alcohol is what has fueled the bar owner's comments. In logs he kept while working at the bar, he often noted her drinking habits. Entries include: "Lynn was very drunk, then began acting very inappropriately," "behind the bar, pouring her own drinks," "Lynn very drunk, offensive to E & K. She was unable to stand upright and drooled on herself."



While the former bar manager says he thinks the bar owner's behavior was questionable, he says he didn't think she was racist.



FOX6 News stopped by the bar on Monday and spoke with the bar's owner, Lynn Forthaus. She didn't want to comment further, saying she's sticking by a statement she issued Sunday. That statement reads:



"There was an unfortunate incident at Two Bucks late Friday, May 1st. I apologize that this occurred. It does not reflect the views of the company, owners or employees of Two Bucks. We embrace diversity and have already taken steps so this will never happen again."










Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this story.