BALTIMORE _ Posted by a brick wall outside Baltimore's Choptank restaurant, newly installed in the former south shed of Fells Point's Broadway Market, a plaque states a list of prohibitions. Among them: excessively baggy clothing, sunglasses after dark and bandannas. "Management may enforce these policies within its discretion," said a note at the bottom.
As a photo of the sign circulated on social media, a Twitterstorm brewed; critics accused the highly anticipated restaurant of racial discrimination, and a spokesman for the restaurant group said it is revisiting the dress code days before Choptank opens to the public.
"We do not support discrimination of any sort, and we are reviewing our policy in light of allegations made," Joe Sweeney, director of marketing for the Atlas Restaurant Group, wrote in an email to The Baltimore Sun.
The core of the criticism was that the prohibited styles are popular with some in the African American community, and that the Choptank was telegraphing who management didn't want coming.
New Yorker writer Helen Rosner tweeted that the policy was part of a "long, toxic and well-documented history of dress codes ... being thinly veiled (if veiled at all) anti-black racism."
Some online critics took particular exception to the warning about management's "discretion," saying that could be an entryway to overt discrimination, violating citizens' legal rights.
From a legal perspective, dress codes are not inherently problematic, even if they're enforced at the discretion of management, says Baltimore lawyer Thomas Donnelly. He points to a 2010 case in Louisiana, Dunaway v. Cowboys Nightlife Inc., in which the courts sided with a nightclub that had banned baggy attire on the grounds that it posed a safety hazard to guests.
A plaintiff alleging discrimination would have to prove a pattern of unequal treatment of customers. "If you're applying that standard differently for men and women or for people of different ethnic backgrounds, that could become a problem," Donnelly said.
Sweeney said the restaurant group's dress codes are enforced without regard for race or other protected categories. Similar dress codes exist at other Atlas properties including the Bygone, where women are forbidden from wearing backless sandals.
The Atlas Restaurant Group was founded by Alex Smith, whose own roots _ and wealth _ run deep in the Baltimore area. Smith's grandfather, John Paterakis, made a fortune through his company, H&S Bakery, and spearheaded the development of Harbor East. Smith's father co-owns conservative-leaning Sinclair Broadcast Group, based in Hunt Valley.
The Choptank isn't the only Fells Point establishment with a proscriptive dress code posted outside. Others include the Horse You Came In On and the Dog Watch Tavern, where patrons are also barred from white T-shirts and excessive jewelry.
In response to the outcry, the Choptank's Twitter account pointed to such dress codes. But that did little to quell criticism.
R. Eric Thomas, senior staff writer for Elle Magazine, wrote that he had been temporarily blocked by the Choptank's Twitter account after inquiring about what he called a "blatantly discriminatory" dress code.
Representatives of Baltimore's NAACP chapter did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union did not make an official available to comment Tuesday.
"It is racist," said Charisse Nichols, who is the general manager at Harbor East's Bar Vasquez and is African American. "Can you point out to me what white friends you have that dress that way?"
The Argentine eatery where she works has no official dress code.
"We just say proper attire required," Nichols said.
In an email to The Sun, Scott H. Marder, a lawyer representing Atlas Restaurant Group, disputed the characterization of the dress code as racist. He pointed to Atlas' "strong policy against discrimination" and said, "Atlas prides itself in operating restaurants that are open to all and free from discrimination."
"Racism still exists in this country and needs to be stamped out wherever it is found," he wrote. "However, false accusations of racism do nothing to eliminate discrimination or foster better understanding among people."
Dress codes, such as Choptank's, "help create a particular atmosphere in its restaurants, regardless of the race of the guests," Marder wrote.
Nichols said guests to Bar Vasquez tend to dress up anyway, but she welcomes them regardless of attire. "I've had football players come here on a Tuesday night wearing sweatpants and a baseball cap and sunglasses. I've had Jim Palmer coming in wearing sweatpants," Nichols said. The actor Kevin Spacey, she said, wore a brimless hat and sunglasses.
"If someone comes into your restaurant, what they're wearing should literally be the last thing you're concerned about," Nichols said. "It's Baltimore."
To Nichols, the Choptank case presses on a deeper bruise within Baltimore's culture, and a historic sense among many black people that they are not welcome in certain places. "And that, to me, is the saddest part of all," she said.
