Multiple Tuscaloosa city councilors on Tuesday condemned the owner of a popular restaurant accused of referring to Black customers by a racial slur in an incident that went viral over the weekend.
“We are all one Tuscaloosa, and I am grateful and thankful for the knowledge that we are all one Tuscaloosa for the betterment of our community, and things that happened there are not indicative of the city and the county,” said Councilor Matthew Wilson during the council’s Tuesday night meeting. “We are better than that in the city.”
The co-owner of Nick’s Original Filet House, also known as Nick’s in the Sticks, was accused in a video of referring to Black customers as the N-word when their white friend joined them at a table to celebrate one of the Black customers’ birthdays.
The video only showed the confrontation between the white customer and the co-owner, identified as Jack Moltz by Tuscaloosa Thread, and did not include video of the alleged racial slur.
Moltz denied using the word to the Thread, calling the accusations “bullshit.”
Efforts by AL.com to reach Nick’s were unsuccessful.
Councilor Kip Tyner, who said he was friends with Nick Delgado, the late original owner of Nick’s, said Delgado’s family is “horrified” by the incident and emphasized that the family does not have ties to the restaurant’s current ownership.
Tyner said he spoke to Delgado’s son-in-law on Monday.
“They are horrified, and they wish the name wasn’t even on the restaurant anymore,” he said. “The original Nick’s – they have nothing to do with it. The owners are not the same, there’s no relation at all.”
Tyner said Delgado’s family said the original owner would be outraged over the alleged incident.
“If you knew Nick Delgado … he was the most welcoming person to everybody,” Tyner said. “His son-in-law said [Delgado]and his wife would both be spinning – his exact words – in their grave knowing that anything like happened with that name on it.”
A third councilor said Delgado was known as a big supporter of the Tuscaloosa Police Department.
