In the 1960s, the Redmond family cafe was part of the southeast Denton community, openly serving black people at a time when white restaurant owners in North Texas were kicking them out.
Located across the street from Fred Moore High School, the community has been there since the 1930s, shortly after city leaders and voters were forced to relocate from Quakertown to Solomon Hill in southeast Denton.
Sweet Y Cafe has long served what one Yelp reviewer calls “soul food” – barbecue and fried chicken, baked beans, catfish and potato salad – and is housed in a house resembling an old frame house with window air conditioning. It was cooked in a building that had been cooked by several generations of Redmond residents. The unit and large backyard are now surrounded by a rickety old fence.
Pastor Reginald Logan of the Southeast Denton Pastoral Alliance still remembers the restaurant's Friday and Saturday nights in the '60s, when a jukebox appeared outside and delicious food was served to the community that rallied to support it. I remember.
Tammy Bradley and Manuel Gooden wanted to continue the Redmonds tradition in 2018, so they rented cafe space and opened Clara's Kitchen. They held a blanket drive for people experiencing homelessness and a toy drive for children. They gave free meals to the elderly and those in need, even during the holidays, to the homeless every day.
To recover from the financial losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Bradley and Gooden began renting Clara's backyard as an event space from 11 a.m. to 4 a.m. on weekends. They said they were making good money from birthday parties, baby showers and celebrations, more than they could make in the cafe's limited space, which seats about 30 people.
Now, the city claims large gatherings pose a public safety issue.
“The safety of gatherings has become increasingly unsafe and we are working to correct them,” city spokesman Dustin Sternbeck said in a statement. “The City has a duty to protect the public safety of our communities, and when we identify situations that threaten this expectation, we respond accordingly. I am optimistic that I will try to find it.”
Since January 2023, police have responded to 67 911 calls to the location, including 29 noise complaints, three shots fired calls and eight fights, Sternbeck said. It is said to be included.
Denton police reported that at least 23 separate callers, not including anonymous callers, contacted 911 about Clara.
For comparison, the Rubber Grove Rehearsal Studio, an event venue in an industrial area near Clara, had 16 simultaneous calls for service and several noise complaints, according to Denton police reports. However, there was no report.
The shooting and fight at Clara's Kitchen resulted in arrests in April 2023 for possession of a controlled substance by a felon and unlawful possession of a firearm, assault causing bodily injury and evading arrest in July 2023, and charges in April 2023 for possession of a controlled substance by a felon and unlawful possession of a firearm. An assault on security personnel occurred on the 6th. According to Denton Police.
“The night they fought, I told the officers to trespass,” Bradley wrote in an April 18 text message.
Neither Mr. Bradley nor Mr. Gooden have been charged or arrested for the noise complaints. Restaurant owners say they are being unfairly targeted by the city. They claim they only rent space for events that don't include alcohol and require security for those holding large gatherings.
“There's no alcohol,” Gooden said. “We’re like Whataburger.”
They say they are following Denton's noise ordinance. Sternbeck said he also doesn't need a permit from the city to host the event, since the number of participants will remain under 200.
“We spruced up the backyard, built a backyard, planted trees, built benches, planted a lawn and beautified the area a little bit,” Gooden said. “Right now, the city is using intimidation tactics because people are taking advantage of it. These signs that are put up everywhere give police the power to harass and nuisance people. ”
These signs are of the “No Parking and No Standing” variety that line Robertson Street outside restaurants. Most look new and appear to have been set up to limit parking at Clara's, with only a small parking lot on the side and in front of the restaurant. At last count in late April, there were nine signs on a narrow stretch of road.
“The recent addition of new signage was initiated by residents' Engage Denton request late last year and approved by traffic engineers to increase awareness of existing restrictions. 'No Parking' regulations along streets have been expanded. There was none,” Jesse Kent, assistant city manager to Sarah Hensley, wrote in an April 8 email to former City Council member Deb Arminter. “This type of 'no parking' sign installation has been done in the past and we are seeing similar results across the city.”
On Saturday, April 6, the day after a 21-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of slamming a police officer into a wall at an event, Gooden had rented the backyard for another event, but when he arrived at the cafe, the city I discovered that there was a riot going on. Orange safety cones were installed on both sides of Robertson Street from one end of the block to the other.
In an April 8 email, Kent said cones were placed “along the 'no parking' zone on Robertson Street when announcing a large event.” Because cones have been found to be an effective way to increase voluntary compliance with long-standing rules. ” This is a no-parking rule. ”
The cone has been moved to Monday, April 8th.
sign
Gooden said new “no parking” and “no standing” signs started appearing along Robertson Street late last year.
Gooden said people often hang out at Whataburger or Clara's after the bars close if there's an event going on. Bradley and Gooden said they notified police of the closure on Friday and Saturday, the day of the shooting.
“The incident occurred at 2:40 a.m. and everyone was coming out of the bar,” Gooden said. “We have discussed the issue with the bar with the police officer and the lieutenant.”
Shortly after the shooting, a Denton Reddit user posted: This kind of regular violence and drama didn't happen until they started allowing all this. They need to take some responsibility and clean up and do the job they claim to be doing instead of further blighting this area. ”
The October shooting did not appear in the police's summary of Clara-related incidents because it occurred across the street rather than on the restaurant's premises.
Gooden, who grew up in southeast Denton, said Johnson is her cousin.
Bradley and Gooden insist that police officers stop by all the time, but not to buy food. Mr. Gooden was sitting at an outdoor picnic table with his older friends, who like him are in their 60s and 50s, drinking beer and enjoying sports games projected on the side of the cafe when the incident occurred. He said the police showed up because of this. Noise complaints.
Both Bradley and Gooden claimed the city also contacted the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to send an investigator to Clara's home. Nothing was found and no ticket was issued.
“[Scott] mcdonalds [director of Development Services in Denton] “He admitted that he once called TABC to report Clara's, but did not say what he was reporting because Clara's does not have a liquor license and does not serve alcohol.” said Richard Gladden, a local attorney representing the.
Pastor Logan recalled that the former police chief stopped by a ministerial alliance meeting to discuss the Clara House issue. He said he can't remember which police chief he was because there have been so many police chiefs over the past few years, but said he's had several before.
Logan said he never heard any music coming from Clara's backyard and didn't notice any problems early in the morning because she was asleep.
“It got really bad,” Logan said. “People were trying to make them [rebuild] Because this facility has been around in the community for a long time. It has become a nuisance. ”
The meeting is
Deputy Police Chief Tony Salas, Sgt. Lucas Bailey and an employee of the city attorney's office were sitting at a picnic table in the parking lot of Clara's on a Monday afternoon in early May discussing how to find a way forward. Salas was wearing plainclothes, a gun, a gold badge on his hip and dark sunglasses.
Gooden and Bradley, who suffered traumatic brain injuries in a car crash on University Drive near Interstate 35 earlier this year and are now in wheelchairs, sat at a picnic table with their attorney. . Raymond Redmond, the property owner, was joined by his elderly father, who sat at the end of the table like the matriarch of the cafe.
The city contacted them on April 16th and set up a meeting with staff for May 2nd to discuss the incident, but the meeting was rescheduled to May 7th shortly after Gladden became involved.
A week later, Bradley and Gooden were contacted again by the city, informing them that they needed a special event permit to host the “Who Drinked the Juice/Official BOTJ After Party” and that they had to apply 60 days in advance. I was reminded that it was necessary. April 27, as staff expected more than 200 people to attend.
City Councilwoman Vicki Byrd, who represents Southeast Denton, had a similar impression and began reaching out to people to contact Bradley and Gooden, according to screenshots of text messages. This is because more than 300 people are expected to gather. She sent it to me.
Bird could not be reached for comment and did not attend the May 7 meeting despite being invited by Clara's staff.
Gladden claimed that event organizers ultimately canceled the event, costing Clara $3,000. He said he sent a letter to Mr. Byrd on May 6 demanding that he recoup his losses within 30 days or recommending he file a lawsuit.
MacDonald did not want to discuss Byrd's actions at the meeting or what had happened before. He wanted to focus on how to move forward and suggested setting up a meeting with the Southeast Denton Neighborhood Association.
“I'm happy to do it,” McDonald said. “I'd be happy if something good comes out of this. What I don't want to do is be hostile. I don't want to have an us-versus-them situation. I don't want to do anything other than how do we get to where we want to go.” I don’t want to.”
SEDNA President Colette Johnson said the meeting is scheduled for June 24. Denton Record Chronicle Thursday afternoon.
Mr. Redmond listened to a conversation between Mr. McDonald, Mr. Bradley and Mr. Gooden, and said the city has a history of hampering minority business owners with regulations while wanting money. He pointed out that the cafe is small and it would be too expensive to build another building or expand.
“So I'm just saying step away from that and come work with us,” said Redmond, who is working on opening another restaurant on Prairie Street. “I applaud them for trying to take advantage of that space. At least they're thinking and trying to engage.”
