Downtown bar called racist amid renovation closure

When a Downtown bar announced on Facebook it would close Friday and Saturday for renovations, the post was flooded with accusations of racism because the closure coincided with the Cincinnati Music Festival.

Friday morning, the post on the Knockback Nats Facebook page had over 511 comments. Many said the renovation plans were a lie, an excuse not to serve the mainly black clientele drawn to the city for the festival.

The Enquirer visited Knockback Nats on Friday morning. Renovations do appear to be going on. Flooring has been torn up, kitchen equipment sits in the main serving area and the sound of power tools can be heard from outside.

The owner of Knockback Nats, Natalie Lay, did not respond to requests for comments. No one doing the work on the bar would speak to reporters.

Yolanda Wisdom, a black woman, stood outside the bar Friday morning with her cell phone taking pictures. She said she knows the owner.

"I came down to give her a hug," Wisdom said. "Cincinnati has had the history of restaurants closing for the music festival … but with her, that's not the case."

Wisdom is right about the history. At the very least, the situation at Knockback Nats is a reminder of the racism that has surrounded the festival for decades.

In 1981, a sales manager at the Westin Hotel distributed an internal memo to hotel executives saying that employees can expect loud guests, drug dealing and poor tipping during the 20th annual Kool Jazz Festival.

In 2000, protesters picketed eight Downtown restaurants that closed for the weekend in late July during two high-profile events that draw tens of thousands of African-Americans to Cincinnati, the Coors Light Jazz Festival and Ujima Cinci-Bration.

Suspicions became heated when it was discovered the restaurant had not applied for any renovation permits with the city.

The Department of Buildings and Inspections told The Enquirer the bar doesn't need a permit because they’re just replacing the floor in the kitchen and bar.

Knockback Nats silence is leaving people open to speculate whether the renovations were planned for this weekend intentionally.

But Wisdom said she trusts Lay. She said Lay's staff is diverse and she's been known to hire people despite having a criminal record.

"How dare they run this owner across the coals," Wisdom said. "She not that type of person."

The Cincinnati Health Department notified Knockback Nats of violations during a July inspection, but officials there said the department did not shut down the restaurant.

Department spokeswoman Marla Fuller said the bar had some structural issues. A cracked kitchen tile violation was also noted in a recent inspection along with other food storage violations and a violation for items blocking a sink.

Knockback Nats will reopen Sunday at noon, according to their Facebook page.

Sports Page on Vine Street, which would normally be open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, will also be closed.

Owner Kali Paskal said the cafe opened for the music festival for decades, but this year, he said, "We just don't have enough help to handle it."

He said last year he had five servers and three cooks working, and the restaurant still got swamped resulting in a lot of complaints.

"We just didn't do a good job last year," he said.

This year, Paskal said he would only have two servers and two cooks.

"We just wouldn't be able to provide good and proper service," he said.