What to Know
- A new bar in Jersey City took down its dress code placard after a number of Yelp users claimed it was racist
- The Ashford bar banned articles of clothing such as low or baggy pants, camouflage and oversized jewelry and chains.
- Co-owner Kenny Caulfield called it an "oversight" and said it "has nothing to do with race whatsoever"
A new bar in Jersey City took down its ultra-specific dress code after a number of Yelp users claimed it was racist, according to multiple reports.
The Ashford bar opened in December with a placard out front banning articles of clothing such as low or baggy pants, camouflage and oversized jewelry or chains. The co-owner tells NJ.com it was up for just one day during the bar's soft opening; Kenny Caulfield said it was "a mistake" and not reviewed properly.
Also among the banned items: headphones, work boots, ball caps and sweatpants. The placard prompted a flurry of Yelp reviews, but it was not positive attention.
"My blonde female friend was allowed in with loose sweat pants but for some reason the other guys in our group (who happened to be black and wearing normal pants, or at least we thought they were), were not allowed in," said Yelp user Sam K.
Another user, Will V., called the policy "racialized" and "a misjudging of what upscale needs to look like."
The sign has since been taken down.
Caulfield told the Daily News he wants to make one thing crystal clear.
"I want to make it very clear that it had nothing to do with race," he told the paper, adding, "I’m not sure that everything written down [on Yelp] is actually factual."
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Caulfield also said he wasn't sure which of his employees made the sign.
"We rectified it straightaway when the oversight was brought to our attention," he told the News.
