Ann Zaniewski

Detroit Free Press

Someone posted a Facebook video that led to about 40 calls to the bar%27s owners

Beer Belly%27s owner put up the sign three years ago to discourage biker gang skirmishes

The owners said they received threats after the video was posted online

TAYLOR, Mich. — A sign that hangs outside Beer Belly's Bar & Grill forbids patrons from wearing motorcycle club and gang colors.

But some people have misinterpreted the words "NO COLORS ALLOWED" to mean the bar doesn't want black patrons.

The bar received about 40 phone calls about the sign on Wednesday, a day after a video of it appeared on a man's Facebook page and spread online like wildfire, said Beer Belly's co-owner Aaron Stevens. The video is narrated by a male voice that says, "Look at that there, no colored people allowed."

"Everybody's asking, 'Do you guys not allow colored people in the bar, or do you not allow black people in the bar?" Stevens said Wednesday night. "I keep trying to explain what it's really about. ...

"(A bartender) said she was getting people saying they were going to come in and mess up the bar. One said he was going to kill her and the owner."

Stevens, who co-owns the bar with his dad, Jeff, said they put up the sign when they took over the bar more than three years ago. Other bars in the area have similar signs, he said.

"There's a lot of bikers in this area, and that's just to keep the biker gangs (from) getting into it with each other," he said.

Stevens said Beer Belly's, which is known for its cheap drinks and tasty food, like the $7.95 Thursday night porterhouse steak dinner, draws all types of people.

"We're really the furthest thing from a racist bar," he said. "We have a mixed crowd. We have a lot of regulars that are African American."

Stevens said the video appeared Tuesday on the Facebook page of a man he doesn't know. As of late Wednesday night, the post with the video had been shared 4,612 times.

The man talking in the video references prejudice and warns people to be careful, saying, "... they're going to lynch your ass if you're darker than me."

Stevens said he might try to personally reach out to the man.

"It puts a bad image on us, and I hope it doesn't hurt our business," he said.