NAACP files lawsuit against North Myrtle Beach eatery closed for Bikefest

The NAACP filed a federal lawsuit for alleged racially discriminatory actions by a North Myrtle Beach restaurant during the Atlantic Beach motorcycle rallies in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

This is the second suit to be filed within a week against area businesses for discrimination.

The organization, its Conway branch and four individuals, two of them from Longs, are plaintiffs in the latest suit against Molly Darcy's On The Beach, which they say has routinely closed during the Atlantic Beach Bikefest while staying open for Harley-Davidson rallies held earlier in May.

The NAACP filed a complaint in November with the S.C. Human Affairs Commission, which the lawsuit said issued the plaintiffs a right-to-sue notice.

Representatives of the restaurant could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon. D. Peters Wilborn Jr., the Charleston attorney who filed the suit for the plaintiffs, did not return a phone call.

The NAACP on Friday filed suit against Pan American Pancake & Omelet House in Myrtle Beach, claiming three black patrons were refused service during last year's Bikefest.

Cafe owner Constantine Leftis, 52, who emigrated from Greece in 1978, said his employees do not discriminate against anyone based on the color of their skin.

"We've been doing this for over 20-something years, and we've never had an issue," he said.

Mickey James, president of the Myrtle Beach Branch of the NAACP, said his group is participating in investigations of a number of other area businesses about which they've received similar complaints.

Each year for the past seven, the NAACP has monitored the area during Bikefest in what it called Operation Bike Week Justice. The group said it receives complaints every year, but did not provide specific numbers.

"I don't know what's going to turn up or what's going to happen," James said when asked if more lawsuits are possible. "That's up to the attorneys to determine."

The lawsuit filed a week ago in federal district court in Florence alleges that the restaurant closed its doors during the Atlantic Beach rallies, which the lawsuit called Black Bike Week, while it was routinely open during the Harley rallies. The lawsuit said the reason was racial and demonstrates a pattern of discrimination against African Americans who attend the Atlantic Beach rallies dating back years.

The lawsuit said the two plaintiffs from Longs, Lee Edwards and Letrena Edwards, as well as two from Columbus, Ohio, Leon Hines and Joey Hines, suffered irreparable damage when they attempted to patronize the restaurant during Atlantic Beach rallies in 2008, 2009 and 2010 and found it closed.

The lawsuit said that signs on the restaurant said it was closed for renovations, but that no work was done to change the appearance of the business. The lawsuit says it is a class action case filed for others who have suffered similar damages as the named plaintiffs, but couldn't estimate how many people might be included.

It is seeking injunctions to stop the restaurant from the alleged discriminatory behavior as well as unspecified money for all in the class for actual damages as well as additional payment as a punitive award.

In the suit filed last week, the NAACP alleges that about 6 a.m. on May 30, 2010, restaurant employees told the plaintiffs that the restaurant was closed, even as they continued to serve white patrons.

In addition to at least $5,000 each for violation of South Carolina's public accommodations law, the court should also award each man unspecified punitive and compensatory damages for emotional harm and humiliation, attorneys wrote.

In 2006, Greg Norman's Australian Grille agreed to pay the NAACP $100,000 to settle a lawsuit claiming the establishment closed to avoid serving blacks.

The city of Myrtle Beach also settled with the NAACP over the way it handles traffic along popular Ocean Boulevard during both spring rallies, but no money was paid by the city.

Both lawsuits had claimed that black bikers attending the Atlantic Beach Bikefest weekend were treated differently than bikers attending the Harley Davidson rally.

Contact STEVE JONES at 444-1765.