Clubbing in Rochester with Melanin:East Avenue

Recently I had the pleasure of reading a May 4th article in the Democrat& Chronicle's Rochester Insider weekly about dress codes at Rochester's night clubs. The title of the article was Nightlife:Cracking the Dress Code, by Troy Smith. Listen to the podcast HERE and read the article HERE .

I commend Troy Smith for his efforts at trying to understand this long ongoing problem. Read the online comments to the article HERE . From these comments, one reader asks "who really cares about this story"........well I do. I live here and I am constantly being bombarded with different variations of:
"PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ROCHESTER! WE PROMISE IT WILL BE BETTER" campaigns from several factions in the city, so yes, I care. Unfortunately and sadly, I don't believe that everyone does, will or can fully understand the point of Troy Smith's story. I wouldn't say that he went "looking" for racism, as it is very often the pink elephant in the middle of the room. His being declined entry at Coyote Joe's did not surprise me at all. My friends and I have encountered this situation many many times. We are all minorities and of the three times we have tried to get into Coyote Joe's, we were denied entry based on the same friend every single time. Let me describe his 'looks' to you: tall, dark, dread locks, jeans or khaki's , button down shirt or polo, Timberland boots. Now let me describe HIM to you: Father, employed as an educator of children, smart, young entrepreneur, respectful, successful, decent, human. Unfortunately his shirt didn't have that description written on the front so the bouncers gave us the standard: "Sorry your pants are too baggy" excuse. The one time that I truly attempted a conversation with the bouncer in regards to the denial of entry, I pointed out to him that he (the bouncer) had on the exact same pants as my friend. He promptly got hostile and wanted to argue loudly. I would not give him the satisfaction, nor would I spend one thin dime in that establishment. I surely won't be remiss in saying that I believe that racism is the underlying problem here, because I would be hard pressed to ignore the obvious. I found Ronnie Davis's following comment in that Rochester Insider article unprofessional and stereotypical.

"What we have found is that people's attitudes and the way they act directly affect the way they dress," Davis says. "We're looking to attract the people from Pittsford, Webster, Fairport. You know, the suburbs. And ... what we've found is that the people they want to look at are not the people with do-rags, people with baggy pants (and) people with their hats turned sideways."

Say it with me folks: HUH?

Deplorable words. Deplorable for a multiple business owner in the City of Rochester. Deplorable for a person who grew up in the same integrated lands of Henrietta that I did, and attended the same culturally diverse high school that I did. (I remember you, Ronnie-what a difference adulthood has made) Honestly I cannot believe he actually said that.

I would like to break down Mr.Davis's comment. I assume that he is catering to the 21 and over crowd (and possibly 18 and over). What ADULT is allowing their outfit of clothing to define their actions for the night? And if that is so, is that the kind of adult Mr.Davis wants in his establishment, drinking alcohol??? If I was a bar/nightclub owner, I wouldn't, because that is a depiction of an immature mentality and therein lies the problem. Davis and is looking to attract suburbanites to downtown Rochester and according to him they do not want to have to view someone in baggy pants, do rags, and sideways hats? I would like to know how Mr.Davis gathered this information. Did he quiz his patrons upon entry? Or is this simply his assumption? And what about those folks who live right here in the city limits of Rochester? You know, the city that EVERYONE wants to revitalize and infuse with youth so as to keep the chicks from flying the coop? Shouldn't we be courted to patronize these establishments with the same amount of effort if not more than suburbanites? His description of the baggy jeans, do-rag, etc, was as stereotypical as one can be in print. Lets all gather around the fire and ignore the pink elephant again. The sad part is, Mr. Davis's practically describes probably 75% of the artists that perform the music that is played in his clubs. After all, according to the videos on MTV and BET, we are now living in a Hip Hop world and I can name at the very least ten artists with top songs on the charts that resemble this "banned" description. Actually, folks, I don't need to name them, simply turn your television to MTV, BET and any entertainment/music channel and see for yourselves.

Now let's play a game called: Whose making it out tonight?




Sorry Akon, I'm thinking nobody wants to see you in Daisy Dukes, those patches on your jeans may be okay for MTV but they will be up for discussion by the bouncers if you want to drink with your friends in some of Rochester's "premier" nightspots!!

Ne-Yo? East Avenue does not care about that shirt, nor that hat to the side sir!! Please do not attempt to tell the bouncer that you are a grown man, who happens to like what you are wearing, because the moment you do that, you have become "vulgar and incensed".

Looks like those guys should just head on over to St.Paul Quarter if they want to hang out in Rochester with 'those' outfits on.


Uh-Oh folks we have a "gray area" candidate:



Timbaland you just may get to party with hordes of drunken suburbanites at one of Ronnie Davis's clubs if you go with those 2. I'm going to chalk your admission up to the company you keep.

Now lets play Whose Not Going to Offend the Eyes of Suburbanites who come to Spend their Money on Yuengling and Labatt Blue's at the Davis Empire:

Travis, you and the rest of those Gym Class Heroes might be able to get your clubbing on at SoHoEast after a playing a Rochester show, but try it this Friday and I think at least ONE of your friends may encounter a little problem at the door. Actually Travis if you let that hair out from under that hat, you just might run into the same problem. But then again you guys have the complexion connection, so you'll probably get to hang out with Timbaland, Nellie and Justin in the V.I.P. Gray Area.



Maroon 5? you guys look clean enough, but I personally am a little suspect over those holes in your jeans, but hey, 2007 is the new 1987, you guys can arrive fashionably late to Coyote Joe's just in time to see my friends and I denied entry (and sadly we have no holes in our jeans, our problem seems to be melanin related) Again, the complexion connection rule will most likely apply....







Linkin Park, I kind of like your new song, and though you have the distinct smell of hip-hop about you, I think you guys along with that wonderful baggy jean collection you are sporting will have a successful evening up and down East Avenue. (you might want to calm that one guys afro down, because well afro's are kind of...well....reminiscent of a Black guy, and you really don't want the WHOLE crew denied entry due to one guys slightly ethnic blowout). Once again, complexion connection.....





Please read Ronnie Davis's 'response' to the article. My use of the word 'response' drips heavily of sarcasm, because instead of sitting down with Troy Smith, he took out a full page advertisement in the Rochester Insider as a feeble attempt to share with readers his personal insight on the issue at hand. Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie..... that is a sad tired trick of the journalistic trade. Any 11th grade high school newspaper editor worth his salt, knows that a paid advertisement response to a negative interview is a misguided attempt at saving face. Read the paid advertisement HERE (it is a PDF file). Obviously if he had sat down with Troy Smith again, Smith would have had the opportunity to get another good quote of you. All I can say after reading the response and then promptly laughing, is if safety is first and foremost for any business owner, than Wegmans Food Markets better stop letting those baggy jeaned, do-rag wearing, hat-to-the-side customers from buying groceries there, because based on that "trouble-making" outfit either a mugging or a Hip-Hop video may be going down in Aisle 5 next to the Chicken Flavored Ramen Noodles! Ronnie Davis's theory that a person may become "vulgar and incensed" upon denial based on their appearance is weak excuse. Honestly, I for one wouldn't be the happiest camper if I was told that I couldn't come in due to my outfit. Also, Mr. Davis has not been on the receiving end of this denial to his clubs. Note to Ronnie: to quote one of my favorite lines in hip-hop, "We don't believe you, you need more people." Your bouncers aren't always very diplomatic at delivering that message. I know this to be fact because I have witnessed many times the creation of a hostile conversation based on the way bouncers have spoken to another adult. He further says that there is a 60% gray area that his patrons fall into in regards to the dress code, "that is best judged by..." his staff. Ronnie that's not a gray area, it's a WHITE area.


I welcome your comments, thoughts, and opinions whether you agree or disagree with any of my words.

In the future:

-I will continue to write about any developments and/or opinions on this issue.
-Look for a future blog about the large RPD (Rochester Police Department) presence at the St. Paul Quarter, (home of clubs like the Black owned VenuResto-Lounge , and also Table 7 Bistro Lounge and Liquid, as compared to their presence on East Avenue during peak club times.