The following statement was released on August 17, 2007 by the Purple Martini nightclub in Greenwood Village, after the general manager was accused of discriminating against black patrons:
The owners of the Purple Martini responded today to the allegations that the general manager of the Purple Martini DTC (8000 E. Belleview Ave., Greenwood Village) discriminated against black patrons.
The claims were made by Ishmahd Shabazz, a local DJ who occasionally works at the Purple Martini DTC.
“As one of the few African American martini lounge owners in Colorado, both personally and professionally, I am very committed and proud of the diversity of our clientele,” stated Will Coleman, managing partner of the nightclubs. “Since opening 8 years ago as one of the first martini lounges in the Denver area, the Purple Martinis have always welcomed a diverse crowd. Whether you visit our Downtown Denver, Denver Tech Center, or Boulder location, anyone can see that we embrace diversity.”
“However, as a company, we take these allegations very seriously,” continued Coleman. “We (the owners) immediately put the manager on paid leave while investigations are underway. I personally attempted on multiple occasions to contact Mr. Shabazz. We will obviously perform a thorough investigation to ascertain what exactly was said.”
“In response to the claim that black patrons were overlooked in the line to get in the club, there have been recent changes at this location regarding entrance. Because this is an extremely popular nightclub in the Denver Tech Center, we fill to capacity quickly; therefore our regular customers have had trouble getting in. The management decided to create two lines for entry-one for VIPs and reserved private bottle service parties and the other line for general admission. We created a VIP list, without consideration of race, so that our faithful customers and those who have made reservations could enter the club more quickly. We also recently began more strictly enforcing an existing dress code that has been in place since we opened to maintain a respectable level of clientele and create a safe, enjoyable evening for all our customers. This dress code does not discriminate against any ethnicity,” said Coleman.
“Our nightclub employees, managers and owners, who are all also very diverse in nature, are compassionate members of the three communities in which Purple Martinis are located,” commented Jim Guttau, director of public relations for the Purple Martini Lounges. “We frequently host charity benefits at each location, including a recent African American art show held at the Purple Martini DTC, African American Chamber of Commerce events, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce events, AIDS fundraisers, cancer research benefits, and many more.”
