An Employee’s Defense of Spy Bar

Let me say that I am deeply sorry that someone had to die because of
an event on W 6th Street. I feel for his family, friends, and all those who had to witness something so terrible. As an employee for Spy Bar I can tell you that we all have been deeply affected and we wish it never happened. I am also aware of the reputation that the establishment has, so let’s just get it out there:
We have college I.D. night on Thursdays (now canceled) that involved having a crowd 18 and over. On Fridays we have a Hip hop night, which involves a 95% African American crowd. Saturday has no particular theme.
Thursdays are promoted by Kiss FM radio, and bring in the 18 and over crowd from as far as Akron and Lorain. Sometimes it brings up to 700 patrons a night. I see people who have obviously been drinking before or on the way to Spy. A wristband allows the staff to
identify those over legal drinking age. Sometimes you can tell that they have been drinking and that leads people to believe that they had a drink in our club, but this is simply not
true.
Our security staff of over 10 bouncers, and our careful bartenders, does an incredible job of making sure no one underage drinks. This includes checking wristbands and not allowing people to buy more drinks than the amount of legal patrons they are with. I have heard multiple complaints of people who got kicked out for holding a drink while a legal age patron who
was “digging through their purse” or “going to the bathroom.” Our staff has a zero tolerance policy that is/was strictly enforced.
So how does this problem relate to the night of the shooting, which occurred down the street and after the closing of Spy bar? It doesn’t. The Wednesday which the shooting took place was a 21 and over night, a special event because of the 4th of July. No under 21 patrons were in the bar that day.
Friday is Hip Hop night at Spy. Some say that our crowd is a “rough crowd.” I disagree. The dress code is strictly enforced and Friday has been a successful night for over 3 years now, with few problems. How do you stop people from being “rough”? Should we stop hip-hop music, which nearly all W 6th bars play? Can you tell by looking at someone that they will be trouble?
There are always going to be a few “bad eggs.” We try to eliminate those the best way we know how — with a strict dress code and a security staff that makes its presence well known.
The events of July 4th are not the fault of Spy Bar. Spy is one of the safest bars on the street and I am proud of the people who work there to make it that way. It’s unfortunate that someone had to die, but including Spy Bar as a cause is the equivalent of attacking Afghanistan for the crimes of Iraq.
Tim Szal

This article appears in Jul 18-24, 2007.