Fort Worth nightspot owner alters part of dress-code policy amid complaints of racism
Policies ostensibly designed to eliminate the presence of “trouble makers” at the popular bars and night spots in the West 7th area have gained a reputation as a guise to target, and block, Black people, said would-be patrons who were hurt by the measures.
After recently being denied entry into Texas Republic on West 7th for wearing the “wrong shoes,” Eichel Davis popped.
The social media and creative video producer for TCU athletics posted a scathing indictment on Facebook of the dress code policies at Texas Republic.
“The racism and discrimination I have felt at bars such as Texas Republic, Varsity, etc. has literally brought me to tears at times,” Davis wrote. “Their dress code restrictions are blatantly racist. Their management group is racist.”
After posting the rant on June 20, he emailed Sam Sameni, the owner of the bars. To Davis’ surprise, Sameni called him and the two spoke for an hour.
In a subsequent phone interview with the Star-Telegram, Sameni said he agreed the particular policy regarding basketball shoes was outdated. As promised to change the code that said patrons wearing basketball shoes after 9 p.m. will not be allowed on site.
That is the one change to its dress code policies.
“His friend was allowed in and he wasn’t and he said that he didn’t feel like he belonged, and that hit home with me,” Sameni said. “I’m Persian. I was a student at SMU during 9/11. I remember that. It’s hard to know how that makes a person feel.”
Sameni is the owner of Entertainment Group, which operates 12 nightclubs in DFW, including several in West 7th.
“I give him credit for calling me. It’s a disservice to any one place to suggest that it’s only them,” Davis said. “It’s not just Texas Republic, or The Varsity. It’s Texas. It’s all over. I have seen this in Chicago and other big cities. ... It needs to change. What does that look like? I don’t know, but it starts by getting rid of discriminating against certain types of shoes.”
The dress code policies at select bars in Fort Worth, and all over the country, are often seen as unofficially targeting Black people from going into those types of places.
Davis’ complaint is hardly the first time a person took exception to the policies.
In April of 2018, Sam Sayed, 32, filed a formal discrimination complaint against The Varsity Tavern, which is down the street from Texas Republic.
Sayed’s complaint was nearly identical to Davis’.
In April of 2019, TCU athletics department employee Coleman Maxwell took to Twitter to effectively say the same thing as Davis. Maxwell said he was not allowed in because he was wearing of Air Jordans.
The codes typically include not allowing patrons in who are wear white T-shirts, large Polo shirts, basketball shoes that run from Jordans to Air Force 1s, sports jerseys (save for TCU gear on game days), Timberland boots, certain cuts of vests, camouflage, flip flops, etc.
Most of those styles are associated with Black culture.
So where do these specific dress code policies come from?
Sameni said he hired a consulting company that came up with the policies and codes, which is a common practice among restaurant and bar owners.
The owners of the restaurants and bars in West 7th belong to an association that meets once a month. They will have guests who are from the fire department, police, etc.
“The police will tell us what the ‘trouble makers’ are wearing,” said Sameni, regardless of the group. “It might be a gang-related tattoo. It’s certain colors and fashions. We had a tip a biker gang was coming to Fort Worth and they wore a certain cut of vest.
“Non-military issued camouflage. Timberland boots we outlawed because they are heavy. We did the basketball shoes because the re-sale value on them is so high, we feared fights over them.”
Sameni said the policies were drawn up in 2014, partially by the consulting company.
“Realistically, I think the dress code is out-dated,” Sameni said.
Right around that same time those policies were created, Davis was growing up in Ferguson, Missouri. He lived there during the riots over the killing of Michael Brown in 2014.
Davis attended the University of Missouri and was a student there during protests in 2015-16 over racial discrimination.
“What happened in Ferguson changed my views on being silent,” Davis said. “You do get this feeling of being out-numbered. You don’t want to be, ‘The Angry Black Guy.’ You can’t always be angry. It’s not healthy.
“But you have to say something. It’s hard to pinpoint when it’s time to be angry. This was something I felt was necessary.”
The anger led to a discussion, which led to a change.
This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
