Tuscaloosa NAACP reacts after Nick's manager apologizes for racial slur

The Tuscaloosa County Branch NAACP on Thursday issued a statement acknowledging the public apology by Nick's Original Filet House manager Jack Moltz regarding the incident that led to a viral video of a spoken altercation, but the group added that actions are needed to follow his words.

Moltz, who operates the Tuscaloosa restaurant known as Nick's in the Sticks with owner Carla Hegenbarth, his wife, made his first public statement Wednesday evening on WVUA-TV about the racially charged incident and offered an apology.

More: Nick's restaurant manager apologizes for using racial slur

The NAACP release, signed by Lisa Young, the branch president, said it remains "deeply concerned about the impact of his words and the broader implications for our community. The use of such a hateful racial slur, particularly by a business owner, is not only hurtful to those directly targeted but also perpetuates the systemic racism that continues to harm communities of color."

While his spoken apology is a step along the path, the group said, more is needed. In the written release, the Tuscaloosa County Branch NAACP called for the following actions:

• "Comprehensive Diversity and Sensitivity Training: We strongly recommend that Mr. Moltz, his staff,and management undergo comprehensive diversity and sensitivity training to better understand theimpact of their words and actions on marginalized communities."
• "Community Engagement: We encourage Nick's in the Sticks to engage in meaningful dialogue withthe African American community and other marginalized groups in Tuscaloosa to foster understandingand healing."
• "Ongoing Commitment to Anti-Racism: We ask that Nick's in the Sticks commit to ongoing efforts tocombat racism within their establishment, including clear policies and practices that supportinclusivity and respect for all patrons."

The NAACP statement added the group will continue to monitor the situation, and expressed the hope that this incident could serve as a catalyst to positive change.

The roughly 2.5-minute video, shot out front of the restaurant on July 26, picks up with a heated discussion in progress between customer Hunter Sartain and Moltz. Hegenbarth can be seen leaving the group and going inside, saying she's going to call the police. Sartain, who is white, says Moltz made a racially charged statement to the customer, as he sat and talked with friends who are Black. Some of the friends are in the frame and can be heard adding to what Sartain says.

On the video, Sartain says to Moltz: "You say 'So you condone this?' That's what you asked me, 'You condone this?' You condone the Blacks? Ain't no condonin' about it. They're my friends. They're just like us. You just didn't want 'em in there. And I'm not for that." Sartain says Moltz used the N-word slur.

The video, or versions, some of them cut, some with added commentary, spread rapidly through the social-media world, over Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, X and other sites, drawing rapid condemnation from around the world. Floods of negative posts led crowd-sourced sites Yelp and Tripadvisor to at least temporarily shut down pages for Nick's, also known as Nick's in the Sticks. Nick's either closed or blocked its own social-media presences, which had been hit with hundreds of the remarks, Tuesday. Calls rolled in for boycotts or shutdowns.

City councilors Matthew Wilson and Kip Tyner led Tuesday's Tuscaloosa City Council meeting with remarks regarding the incident, and sign-carrying protesters have been seen out front of the restaurant over the weekend, and since its reopening Tuesday night.

Nick's has been a Tuscaloosa staple more than 60 years, since Hell's Kitchen-born Nick Del Gatto moved south to Alabama with Greene County-born wife Frances Wilson, who he'd met at school. Their first restaurant went up about 1940 at Knoxville, in Greene, known as Nick's at Nixville. They crossed over the county line in 1955, after Tuscaloosa re-legalized alcohol sales.

Nick's Fillett (original misspelling) House opened at 4108 Culver Road, south of the BFGoodrich plant on U.S. Highway 11/43. It became Nick's Original Filet House under new ownership in the '70s, and nicknamed Nick's In the Sticks after a second location was tried downtown. Though the founder stayed on as unofficial host and greeter for decades after his retirement, both Nick and Frances passed early this century, and the Del Gatto family has no connection to current ownership.

Not long after Moltz's apology aired, Sartain posted a Facebook message, apparently his first public comment since the video spread. Though many praised him for standing up and doing the right thing, Sartain insisted this wasn't about him, and that he believed " ... most Americans are good and desire to work together. We must make it our mission to treat each other with love, kindness and respect.

"My prayer moving forward is that we can all work together for the good of our communities. If each person strives to stand for what's right and work together, I can only imagine how wonderful our society would be.

"God Bless America!"

Reach Mark Hughes Cobb at mark.cobb@tuscaloosanews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Tuscaloosa NAACP reacts after Nick's manager apologizes for racial slur