Protest Held Outside Pacific Beach's Backyard Kitchen & Tap Following Multiple Allegations Of Violence Against Patrons

November 30, 2019

This Black Friday, rather than choosing to shop for the holidays, a handful of Pacific Beach community members gathered outside Backyard Kitchen & Tap to protest in light of the most recently alleged violent attack of a customer by staff security.

Several people gathered outside of Backyard Kitchen & Tap on Friday evening, November 29, after a San Diego woman claimed she was injured by an employee of the Pacific Beach bar after a night out with a friend on the evening of November 23. Following an alleged verbal altercation with a female employee of the establishment, 21-year-old Natalie Lara states she was escorted out of the business by security and slammed against walls before being thrown to the curb outside. She has posted photos of her injuries from the incident on social media, which she described as traumatizing.

Photo posted on Instagram @goldbugg3t
"I usually never post about something like this but I have never experienced such abuse in my life, especially on the hands of random individuals," posted Natalie Lara under Instagram account @goldnugg3t. "The night started fun, until things took a turn towards a truly traumatizing night. I was standing inside of @backyard_pb when a girl pushed my friend. I saw her do it so I just told her 'hey you don’t need to push.' Never once approached myself to her in a aggressive way just stated the fact that she didn’t need to push. Then she mentioned to me that she worked there and wanted to get me kicked out. That’s when 3 large white males security guards approached me. The 1st white male ask me to come with him to talk. In shock I ask what the problem was. To then I had the 2nd white male yell in my face to 'Get the F**k out!' Still with no explanation given to me, just met with aggression by these large males. That’s when I turned and was grabbed from the back and slammed into the wall in front of me. Still having no idea who was grabbing me, I was scared and felt attacked. Trying to have him let go of me. That’s when he slammed me against another wall to then throw me so hard onto the concrete floor that my elbow bussed open and starting bleeding profusely. Still on the floor, I had a 4th male running towards me and push my head on the floor. To then have 5-7 white males and a female pinning onto the ground. Bloody and bruised this is not okay. And this is not the first time this bar has attacked people of color in such brutal ways. I want my story to be the last and a change needs to happen so nobody else gets hurt."







I usually never post about something like this but I have never experienced such abuse in my life, especially on the hands of random individuals. The night started fun, until things took a turn towards a truly traumatizing night. I was standing inside of @backyard_pb when a girl pushed my friend. I saw her do it so I just told her “hey you don’t need to push.” Never once approached myself to her in a aggressive way just stated the fact that she didn’t need to push. Then she mentioned to me that she worked there and wanted to get me kicked out. That’s when 3 large white males security guards approached me. The 1st white male ask me to come with him to talk. In shock I ask what the problem was. To then I had the 2nd white male yell in my face to “Get the F**k out!” Still with no explanation given to me, just met with aggression by these large males. That’s when I turned and was grabbed from the back and slammed into the wall in front of me. Still having no idea who was grabbing me, I was scared and felt attacked. Trying to have him let go of me. That’s when he slammed me against another wall to then throw me so hard onto the concrete floor that my elbow bussed open and starting bleeding profusely. Still on the floor, I had a 4th male running towards me and push my head on the floor. To then have 5-7 white males and a female pinning onto the ground. Bloody and bruised this is not okay. And this is not the first time this bar has attacked people of color in such brutal ways. I want my story to be the last and a change needs to happen so nobody else gets hurt. Any news channel tagged in this photo please contact me. Please repost, the more exposure and with more and more people sharing similar experiences, we can really make a change and shut this bar down. 🙏🏽#CancelBackyardPB #JusticeForColor
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It is reported that Lara has retained La Jolla personal injury attorney Evan Walker to file suit on her behalf. Walker has alleged that this was hardly the first issue he's dealt with regarding the bar, pointing to an incident in 2017 when bouncers threw several men to the street with one suffering a broken leg. Walker also claims to be in possession of a video of another incident at Backyard Kitchen and Tap that allegedly took place over the summer where bouncers kicked out a woman then slammed her to the ground and held her down.

Backyard Kitchen & Tap is operated by OMG Hospitality Group, which was founded in 2008 by CEO Eric Leitstein. The San Diego-based company also owns nearby Pacific Beach Alehouse and Waterbar, as well as Union Kitchen & Tap locations in San Diego's Gaslamp and Encinitas. The hospitality group is also affiliated with Pacific Beach Fish Shop, Point Loma Fish Shop and Hermosa Beach Fish Shop.

"Backyard Kitchen and Tap takes great pride in being part of the local community and a contributor to the local hospitality industry," commented General Manager Ryan O'Leary. "We take any and all allegations of this nature very seriously, and have conducted investigations into the recent incidents. Although we typically refrain from public comment regarding incidents such as these, due to the seriousness of the allegations, we would like to give some general comments regarding these incidents. It is our goal to provide a safe and fun environment for our customers as well as our staff. The parties making these allegations threatened that safe environment. Any injuries that may have occurred in these incidents were sustained while protecting our customers and staff. We contacted the San Diego Police Department on both incidents with no finding of any wrongdoing by any member of the Backyard staff. We absolutely take offense to any allegations of discrimination. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in any way with regard to our patrons or employees. We welcome all races and religions and we are thankful to all of our customers for their support."

Backyard Kitchen & Tap has also been accused of deleting comments on the company's social media channels and has turned off the ability to comment on its Instagram page.