True Kitchen Owner Claims Business Is Booming After Twerking Controversy

Business is apparently booming at True Kitchen and Kocktails, the Dallas restaurant that stirred up a viral controversy over twerking this week.

In an interview with gossip publication TMZ, owner Kevin Kelley said that the restaurant has been “inundated” with reservations over the last couple of days. A peek at its OpenTable page, which manages reservations for True Kitchen, indicates that the restaurant is currently booked out for weeks. That was sort of the case prior to the controversy, though, as plenty of people complained on Twitter and Facebook that they had been unable to secure reservations at True.

“We’ve received an outpouring of support that we did not anticipate online and in person,” Kelley told TMZ. “This lets us know the public believes in our vision for the restaurant and they will support a concept working to fill a void in our communities.”

But while business is booming, another controversy has brewed on social media over the restaurant’s dress code, which apparently bans sagging pants, tank tops, and fuzzy slides, among other garments. These types of dress codes have frequently been criticized as racist and discriminatory.

To be sure, Kelley has been unapologetic about his now-viral rant. In a response to the controversy posted to True Kitchen’s Instagram account. “No guest has the right to come into our business ‘home’ and stand on our furniture because of any song played,” the statement reads. “As for twerking being a part of our culture, we do not welcome the part of the culture that will come into a restaurant, stand on furniture and twerk while using ‘culture’ as an excuse.”

• Video of Dallas Restaurant Owner’s Anti-Twerking Rant Goes Viral [EDFW]
• True Kitchen Owner Issues Lengthy Response to Viral Twerking Controversy [EDFW]