A bar owner from Gwinnett County says residents in northeast Atlanta are so opposed to a liquor license they have resorted to painting racial slurs and graffiti at his home.
David Johnson, who is black, says he’s been threatened recently and found a racial slur and “Leave Kirkwood” comment painted on his garage door at his home near Grayson. A phone message said, "Leave Kirkwood or die."
Johnson owns the Kirkwood Bar and Grill on Hosea L. Williams Drive and is fighting the city for a liquor license. The bar has been closed for several weeks
In an interview with Channel 2 Action News, Johnson blamed Kirkwood neighbors opposed to the bar.
Earl Williamson, chairman of the Kirkwood Neighbors Organization, or NPU-O, said the complaints against the Kirkwood Bar & Grill have focused on public safety and quality of life issues, and were not racially motivated.
Williamson, in an email to NPU-O members and an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, cited a “substantial number” of 911 calls to Johnson’s business and subsequent arrests since it first opened three and a half months ago and was operating on a temporary alcohol permit.
Once Johnson’s permit was pulled for review by the city, Williamson said, the number of 911 calls and arrests dropped dramatically.
In an emailed response Sunday, Johnson disputed the NPU-O's assertions that the bar has been the target of repeated 911 calls. He said police logs showed "it was clear that no crimes [have] ever taken place at my place during the time I have been open," Johnson said. "None of the NPU statements in regards to that were true."
The NPU-O, which is fighting issuance of a permanent permit, has accused the bar of illegally promoting two-for-one drink specials, free drink promotions, alcohol giveaways, unpermitted live entertainment and staying open until 3 a.m.
Williamson said charges of racism are baseless because there are other businesses in the mostly black community that are owned by blacks, Asians, gays, lesbians and whites.
“The NPU-O deplores this kind of action regardless of where it came from,” Williamson said of the vandalism at Johnson’s home.
Williamson, who accused Johnson of “playing the race card,” also said it is “no coincidence” that the bar owner claimed his home was vandalized “on the same day he was notified official that the Mayor had remanded his alcohol application back to the License Review board for a re-hearing.”
Johnson told Channel 2 one telephone message said, "Leave Kirkwood or die." Another asked, "What do we have to do to get you to leave, go away?" It included a racial slur.
Johnson was unnerved by the vandalism at his home. “What if they wanted to set my house on fire, what if I opened my garage and wanted to go to the store in the middle of the night," Johnson said.
He said the incidents only serve to “renew” his determination to get the license.
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