Iconic Tuscaloosa Restaurant Under Fire Over Owner's Alleged Use of Racial Slur

An institutional Tuscaloosa restaurant is under social media siege Saturday as a video reportedly showing the aftermath of the owner making a racist comment spreads like wildfire.

The viral video shows a white customer who has asked not to be identified at this time confronting the owners of Nick’s Original Filet House, better known as Nick’s in the Sticks, although it does not show the inciting interaction.

AL.com reports Nick’s opened around 1939 in Knoxville, Alabama, and relocated to its longtime home “in the sticks” on Culver Road outside Tuscaloosa after alcohol sales were allowed in this county. The down-to-earth steakhouse is legendary for its filets and the Nicodemus, a signature drink featuring fruit punch and enough liquor to make one enough for most folks.

In the 80s, its original owner Nick Delgado sold the place to Lloyd Hegenbarth, who died in 2014. His widow Carla has owned it for the last decade and now runs Nick’s with her husband and co-manager Jack Moltz.

The customer in the video told the Thread he was at Nick’s with a friend when he saw an Black acquaintance celebrating a young man’s 22nd birthday with a group.

The customer said he sat down next to his friend, caught up for a while, then stepped outside the restaurant, where he said one of its white owners, Jack Moltz, asked him a question that shocked him.

“When I walked out, he jumped all over me and said, ‘so you condone sitting at the table with the n*****s?’” the customer said in the video.

The fast-spreading video shows the customer exchanging words with Jack Moltz, who he accused of using the slur, while owner Carla Moltz brushes by, threatening to call the police.

A TPD spokesperson confirmed they responded to Nick’s Friday night over reports that a group was about about to fight two people.

“You messed up because this is their first time experiencing here, they’re friends of mine, and you want to make me feel bad because I sat down at the table,” the customer was filed saying. “You asked me if I’m gonna consult with these n*****s!”

Moltz didn’t get very many words in edgewise, except to once call the accusations “b******t.”

As the offended parties prepared to leave, they said they were calm and not going to cause trouble on their way out, except to stop long enough to make their feelings clear to the man who reportedly used the slur.

“You asked me, you said, ‘You condone the Blacks?’ Ain’t no condone 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,” the customer said. “And you know what, as far as I’m concerned, everybody that eats in here that I know will probably never be back.”

There has been sharp backlash Saturday, with hundreds of negative reviews about Nick’s pouring in across Facebook and other platforms.

Ownership at the restaurant could not be reached for comment Saturday afternoon.

Editor’s note: Nick’s Original Filet House is not affiliated with Jim N’ Nicks BBQ, a Birmingham restaurant with a location in downtown Tuscaloosa.

For updates on the controversy if any become available, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.