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Dinner and a Movie Closes, Founder Rashad Bailey Cites Racism as the Root Cause

Edward Anderson on August 8, 2022

In the city of Chicago, a restaurant owner is in turmoil after the city decided to revoke his license during a legal dispute about his restaurant.

The source of the conflict? A debate whether the venue was a restaurant or a nightclub.

The restaurant

Rashad Bailey is an entrepreneur who finally realized his restaurant dream last year when he opened Dinner and a Movie last year.

Dinner and a Movie was based in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, serving waffles, booze, movies and music.

According to the founder, the venue hosts class reunions and birthday parties to celebrate Black love and gatherings.

The complaints

Although Dinner and a Movie sounds like one of the best places in town, it has been the subject of complaints from neighbors.

Those who live near the property have reported noise coming from the restaurant.

Since Dinner and a Movie opened its doors to customers, it has been the scene of several fights.

In June 2021, a shootout erupted after a brawl broke out. Fortunately, no one was hit.

2022

In the last week of July, the Department of Business and Consumer Protection issued the ultimatum to revoke Dinner and a Movie’s business license.

The decision comes after months of dispute in which the department said the restaurant operated more like a tavern.

It is also noted that Bailey took no action to address noise complaints.

What Rashad Bailey had to say

Amid all the people complaining about the noise and violence in the restaurant, founder Rashad Bailey maintains that his business was targeted by police upon opening.

“This year, (during hearings with the city), I found out I had about 10 undercover officers in my restaurants within a week’s time of me opening with no incidents happening,” he revealed.

Bailey also said Chicago police would harass his restaurant, often showing up unannounced in large numbers.

A month after the shooting by Dinner and a Movie, a video clip saw police entering the restaurant.

However, Dinner and a Movie was closed during the incident.

Rashad Bailey pointed out that the Chicago Commercial Department began investigating the restaurant not too long after it opened – the reading being that the venue sold alcohol beyond its license.

At the time, the department denied Bailey’s restaurant privileges to serve lunch and operate after midnight.

Bailey also blamed the neighbors for closing Dinner and a Movie, saying they made false complaints because of the large Black customer base.

“This is racism,” Bailey said.

“They’re putting crime and the problems of the city on me. They see Black music, Black people, and they think that’s the problem.”

Meanwhile, Yelp reviews on Dinner and a Movie wrote that the restaurant only offered a limited menu, conducted security pats at the entrance, and charged an additional fee for coverage.

Rashad Bailey said that he was finished fighting town hall. He also decided he will leave Chicago.

“Because Dinner and a Movie was Black,” he said. “The Black birthday is a problem and some days, we are.”

“I told someone else, there are people out here in Chicago that shoot people and reb people, and they are savages and should be locked up.”

“Because hardworking Black people, we don’t want to deal with that, and they group us together,” Bailey added. “I don’t want to deal with that.”

References:

Chicago man says city shut down his business, Dinner and a Movie, because he’s Black

Chicago man believes city shut his business down because he’s Black

Nicole Rokita Shares Why She Opened LA’s First Keto Restaurant

danielruiz on September 22, 2020

The keto diet has enjoyed an upsurge of popularity in recent years with the help of online communities and social media platforms. The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet designed to lower blood sugar and insulin levels and shift the body’s metabolism toward fat and ketones instead of carbs. Like with any diet, many skeptics ask: does it work? Nicole Rokita, the proud owner of the niKETO Restaurant in Hollywood, gives a resounding yes.

The first all-keto restaurant in Hollywood, California, niKETO Restaurant is known for serving low-carb, gluten-free versions of everyone’s classic food favorites—from pizzas and burgers to desserts. The team at niKETO Restaurant, headed by founder Nicole Rokita, spent over three years developing the menu alone to ensure that it was perfect and satisfactory for their target demographic as well as unsuspecting taste testers who were getting their first bite of keto meals. The team enjoyed surprising people once they found out afterward that the meal they had thoroughly enjoyed was a healthy ketogenic meal.

Nicole Rokita is the mastermind behind the famous keto restaurant. As a model seeking a healthy, sustainable lifestyle, she eagerly embraced the keto lifestyle after she heard about its long list of health benefits and weight management advantages. Five years later, keto has become an important part of her lifestyle.

Her dedication to keto has brought out her passion for bringing delicious food that is surprisingly healthy as well. As the proud owner of niKETO Restaurant, she seeks to inspire others to join her on a journey that has been life-changing for her health.

“The concept of niKETO was influenced by the ketogenic diet, but the key to success for niKETO is much simpler: the goal is to create awareness about the positive effects that a low carb diet has on both your mind and your body,” she said.

Nicole Rokita has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Chicago. Her decision to embark in the restaurant industry was spontaneous. It stemmed from her pure passion for the ketogenic diet. Though she was told that the restaurant industry is one of the toughest to succeed in, she persisted because of her keen entrepreneurial mindset.

Nicole designed the menu to be as low in carbohydrates as possible so that diners could still enjoy a great amount of flexibility when choosing the food items they would consume that day. The keto advocate believed this would be the safest way to ensure that her customers would not exceed their carbohydrate limit.

As a restaurant owner, she aims to create awareness of recent scientific research that disputes what the public has been taught in regard to the food pyramid. Nicole Rokita has a strong desire to educate the masses on how to truly eat healthily.

Nicole is currently expanding niKETO into an entire restaurant group that will operate several restaurants of varying cuisines but with the same mission: to keep the carbs low and the meals keto-friendly. Currently, niKETO is available only in Los Angeles, but Nicole Rokita has big plans to expand in major cities in the near future.

Check out the niKETO Restaurant on its website. Stay up-to-date with Nicole Rokita on her Instagram.