The owner of a well-known Darwin nightspot is facing claims he instructed staff to bar Indigenous people from his premises and that he owes thousands of dollars in unpaid wages to his employees.

Key points: Staff of Rorkes Beer Wine and Food have made claims about being owed thousands and racist treatment of Indigenous patrons

Staff of Rorkes Beer Wine and Food have made claims about being owed thousands and racist treatment of Indigenous patrons Several staff have lodged complaints with the Fair Work commission

Several staff have lodged complaints with the Fair Work commission The bar has been closed for days and the ABC understands 15 staff members have taken part in a mass walk-out

Mitchell McNamee, the owner of Rorkes Beer, Wine and Food, in central Darwin, allegedly wrote to a senior staffer saying, "I told you no blacks in my f***ing bar".

He also allegedly told staffers to start charging Aboriginal patrons for water and suggested in a text message they should use the excuse of "no singlets" to stop Indigenous people from entering.

Mr McNamee declined to respond to the allegations when contacted by the ABC multiple times on Monday.

Staff walk out due to conditions

Staff members at Rorkes, which operates in Darwin's historic Commonwealth Bank building, staged a walk-out last week and claimed they were owed several weeks' pay.

One high-ranked staff member said she was owed $10,000 and has not been paid since early January.

Staff further alleged that Mr McNamee would regularly instruct them to remove Indigenous patrons for no legitimate reason.

Rorkes was not open for business on Sunday and Monday and the ABC was told only a handful of staff now remained on the business's books.

Several staff also lodged official complaints with the Fair Work commissioner.

Thom Brock, who worked at Rorkes as a junior manager, said he was owed almost $6,000 from about three weeks of unpaid wages and alleged that Mr McNamee would often pay him late and made staff feel uncomfortable.

Thom Brock and Beau Amy have both quit their jobs at the pub. ( ABC News: Elias Clure )

He also added, "he's a racist", and said he'd also been asked to demand payment when Indigenous customers asked for water.

"He would ask me to charge (Indigenous customers) for water, which we're obviously not allowed to do because it's supposed to be free," he said.

Claims of pay being dropped

Beau Amy moved from Victoria's Swan Hill to work as a duty manager at Rorkes.

He also walked out last week.

"When I first started I was promised a certain amount [of pay] … and then without any notice my pay was dropped by a large amount," Mr Amy said.

"He actually avoided me for several weeks and then in the final weeks I wasn't getting paid at all."

Mr Amy said estimated he was owed more than $4,000 and also claims he hasn't been paid for several weeks.

Business suffering amid downturn

Both Mr Brock and Mr Amy believed the business wasn't making much money and had been suffering amid Darwin's current economic downturn.

However, the inner workings of the bar's finances were never revealed to senior staff.

Central Darwin pub Rorkes has been closed for days. ( ABC News: Elias Clure )

"I was never allowed to see that side of it," Mr Amy said.

"I was told it was doing great … so, I thought we were doing well until the pay started to change, he lied to me about how well the business was doing.

"It made me feel worthless really. I've moved across from the other side of the country to help someone out and I've been lied to and asked to work for free."

Mr Amy has also filed a complaint with Fair Work.

Several former staffers told the ABC that Mr McNamee promised to repay the owed wages.

Mass staff walkout at Rorkes

The reports of racism and lack of payment were supported by another staff member who spoke to the ABC but asked not to be identified.

Beau Amy moved from the small town of Swan Hill to be a manager at Rorkes. ( ABC News: Elias Clure )

The former sales manager said he was owed more than a week and a half worth of pay and would often be blamed for the bar being empty.

"I was actually the first person to quit because staff were not getting paid and the way he behaved … he just didn't seem to grasp the situation," he said.

"This is someone who doesn't understand that people who do work for him need to be paid and you need to respect people."

The ABC understands 15 staff members quit Rorkes over the past week including the venue's general manager and its head chef.