Dispute between Chubby Chicks restaurant and upstairs neighbors fanned on social media

A simmering dispute between the new Chubby Chicks restaurant and its upstairs neighbors in Center City burst into public view through social media this past week, catching the attention of city officials as well as new customers offering support to the restaurant owner.

The condo association at 1111-13 Walnut St. has fined the restaurant’s landlord for noise, while restaurateur Shakeira Turner said she has faced harassment from people affiliated with the condos even before the restaurant’s opening on Dec. 3.

The disagreement went viral on Feb. 16 when Christina Afia Harris, a digital creator known as Dr. Afia, posted a video to rally support behind Turner. “There’s a brand-new Black-owned brunch spot in Center City that has some of the best food I’ve ever tried, but they’re experiencing bullying, harassment, and racial discrimination,” Harris said in her narration. “The neighborhood has not been welcoming.”

“They’re having a hard time with me being here and with the consumers that my restaurant [brings] in,” Turner, who moved her business to Center City from a smaller space in Blackwood, N.J., said on Harris’ video.

In interviews with The Inquirer, Turner said bread was left at the restaurant’s door to attract mice and that someone had deposited dead rats on the sidewalk three days in a row. She also said someone entered after hours and flooded the restroom twice, when only the condo association had access to the space, she said.

Turner, who is Black, said a white man she knew to be a condo owner asked her if she had used her “drug dealer baby daddy money” to open the restaurant. She said she felt as if she didn’t belong in the neighborhood.

Chubby Chicks’ weekend karaoke brunches — lively events hosted by a DJ — seem to have irked the condo association, which represents Turner’s landlord as well as owners of the seven residential units in the apartment complex.

Turner’s attorney, Stephen Pina, said the association has levied $5,700 in fines against her landlord, Michael Wei, for noise complaints made over multiple days. Wei forwarded the fines to Turner, Pina said. “She has made every attempt to try to keep music at a minimum even though she is allowed to play music,” Pina said. “I mean, it’s a restaurant.” He added that several complaints were alleged after the restaurant’s 8 p.m. closing. Wei did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

City Councilperson Mark Squilla said he had not heard of any complaints from the association or Turner before last week.

“We’re deeply troubled and concerned to learn of these incidents,” Matthew Collins of Horn Williamson, the association’s attorney, said. “The residents would like nothing more than for the business to succeed and that was communicated directly to Ms. Turner. We’re just working through how the people who live there can enjoy their home and how Ms. Turner’s business can thrive. They do not need to be mutually exclusive.”

Collins said he has asked the vendor that runs the association’s surveillance system to preserve video footage so it could be reviewed to see who was behind the alleged vandalism of the restaurant. “Anyone who is engaging in that type of conduct should be prosecuted,” he said. The board, he added, had approved additional cameras “to hopefully dissuade any future conduct of the like that Ms. Turner has described.”

Pina said previous meetings had been unproductive. During one, Turner and a resident visited a condo unit to assess the sound coming from the restaurant, but, he said, the resident could not agree on an acceptable noise level.

The storefront, across from the Forrest Theater, has housed a series of restaurants over the last 20 years, including Joe Pesce, the Farmers’ Cabinet, and Destination Dogs — all of which had bars and were open late. Chubby Chicks is a BYOB.

After Harris’ video gained traction online, Fox29 aired a news report Monday in which Turner contended that unspecified “neighbors” were bullying and harassing her.

The online review pages of neighboring food businesses Hi-Lo Taco Co. and Scoop DeVille were soon filled with one-star reviews and invective, although they had nothing to do with the dispute. “I’ve spent a lot of time deleting probably close to 100 comments on our social media across all platforms,” said Jeff Newman, Hi-Lo’s owner, on Thursday.

The furor began to abate Wednesday after Turner posted on social media that these businesses have been allies, and Fox29 aired a follow-up story in which she urged supporters “not to harm” nearby businesses.

“Chubby Chicks has been going through it, and we’ve been there since the start and heard the stories,” Newman told The Inquirer. “We know her and we’ve supported her, and what she’s gone through is terrible and shouldn’t be happening.” He said the commentary has since shifted to “people just trying to support everyone, which is much more the Philly that we know and love.”

City Council weighed in, as well. Kenyatta Johnson, the Council president, visited Chubby Chicks on Wednesday to shoot a supportive video that he posted on Instagram. “We don’t want her discouraged and, most importantly, feel[ing] that Philadelphia is unwelcoming to a young entrepreneur that wants to do business in our city,” Johnson said in an interview.

On the floor at the Council meeting Thursday, Councilperson Katherine Gilmore Richardson spoke in support of Turner, saying she was “deeply disturbed and disheartened after listening to what she has endured: harassment, intimidation, and just pure ignorance.” She added that before the meeting, she had ordered food from Chubby Chicks to be delivered to everyone on Council, adding, “for the record, I paid for it.”

Both Councilperson Mark Squilla and Johnson said they want to set up a meeting among the parties. Johnson suggested that they reach out to the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission “to see how they could be supportive of this process.”

Squilla, who represents the restaurant’s district, said he had left a message for Turner. “We need to find out what the challenges are and how we could resolve them so they can just both live in harmony there,” he said.

Meanwhile, the restaurant has been busier than usual as supporters are stopping in for breakfast and lunch platters of chicken and waffles and pineapple upside-down French toast.

“What brought me there was an idea of supporting a small Black business that seemed to be under attack,” said Jonathan Wilson, a first-time customer.

Lakisha Davis, a designer, said she drove up from Baltimore on Thursday to “stand in solidarity” with Turner after seeing the story on Instagram. “As Black women, we already navigate enough obstacles, but [it’s not right] to have your own neighbors make things even harder when you’re simply trying to do your best,” she said, adding that she was “overjoyed to see the place packed with customers. It was a powerful reminder that we are not alone, and when we lift each other up, we show the world that we belong.”