Latest news with #HonkyTonk
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kid Rock seeks distance from Nashville restaurant after report of ICE raid dodge
Kid Rock says he doesn't 'have anything to do' with the daily operations at a restaurant bearing his name after the Nashville dining spot was reportedly one of several places that recently closed its kitchen to avoid U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. 'Clearly I do not have anything to do with day to day operations at my Honky Tonk – but it's good click bait, I get it,' the 'All Summer Long' singer wrote to his more than 1.2 million followers on X on Monday. 'That being said I 100 percent support getting illegal criminals out of our country no matter where they are,' he added. The social media post, which linked to a Daily Mail story, came in response to a recent report from the Nashville Scene. 'At the instruction of managers, restaurant employees without legal citizenship status left the premises at… Kid Rock's Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N' Roll Steakhouse during a primetime rush on Saturday night to avoid detention by ICE agents,' the local news outlet reported last week. 'Locations, already struggling to provide full service, suffered through at least Sunday due to fears from employees who did not want to risk arrest by returning to work,' it added. A representative for the restaurant could not be reached for comment. Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, has been one of President Trump's most ardent celebrity supporters. He performed at the Republican National Convention last year and appeared alongside Trump in the Oval Office in March as the president signed an executive order aimed at curbing ticket scalping. 'I also like President Trump want to speed up the process of getting GREAT immigrants into our country – LEGALLY!' the 54-year-old musician said. Kid Rock's Nashville restaurant — which bills itself as the 'biggest and baddest new honky tonk' — opened in 2018. In a news release last week, ICE's New Orleans field office said it arrested 196 'criminal illegal aliens' as part of a 'weeklong targeted enforcement operation' across the greater Nashville area. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hill
Kid Rock seeks distance from Nashville restaurant after report of ICE raid dodge
Kid Rock says he doesn't 'have anything to do' with the daily operations at a restaurant bearing his name after the Nashville dining spot was reportedly one of several places that recently closed its kitchen to avoid U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. 'Clearly I do not have anything to do with day to day operations at my Honky Tonk – but it's good click bait, I get it,' the 'All Summer Long' singer wrote to his more than 1.2 million followers on X on Monday. 'That being said I 100 percent support getting illegal criminals out of our country no matter where they are,' he added. The social media post, which linked to a Daily Mail story, came in response to a recent report from the Nashville Scene. 'At the instruction of managers, restaurant employees without legal citizenship status left the premises at… Kid Rock's Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N' Roll Steakhouse during a primetime rush on Saturday night to avoid detention by ICE agents,' the local news outlet reported last week. 'Locations, already struggling to provide full service, suffered through at least Sunday due to fears from employees who did not want to risk arrest by returning to work,' it added. A representative for the restaurant could not be reached for comment. Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, has been one of President Trump's most ardent celebrity supporters. He performed at the Republican National Convention last year and appeared alongside Trump in the Oval Office in March as the president signed an executive order aimed at curbing ticket scalping. 'I also like President Trump want to speed up the process of getting GREAT immigrants into our country – LEGALLY!' the 54-year-old musician said. Kid Rock's Nashville restaurant — which bills itself as the 'biggest and baddest new honky tonk' — opened in 2018. In a news release last week, ICE's New Orleans field office said it arrested 196 'criminal illegal aliens' as part of a 'weeklong targeted enforcement operation' across the greater Nashville area.
The Independent
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Kid Rock's Nashville restaurant sends staff home on busy Saturday night to avoid ICE raid, report says
Management at a Kid Rock-themed restaurant and bar in Nashville reportedly rushed non-citizen employees off the premises during the weekend over fears of an impending ICE raid. During the busy Saturday service, non-citizen employees at three restaurants owned by Nashville businessman Steve Smith were told to leave, including Kid Rock's Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N' Roll Steakhouse, which opened in 2018, Nashville Scene reports. 'We were already understaffed because of the ICE raids throughout the weekend,' an employee at one restaurant told the outlet. "Then, around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, our manager came back and told anyone without legal status to go home.' After the alleged request, the employee said there was 'no one in the kitchen to cook the food.' The Independent has contacted the Kid Rock restaurant for comment, as well as the others named in the article, including Honky Tonk Central. A manager at the third restaurant mentioned in the piece, The Diner, declined to comment. The reported fears of a raid came as ICE conducted a weeklong operation in the area, which netted nearly 200 arrests, according to the agency. The alleged known presence of undocumented workers at Kid Rock's restaurant would be at odds with the entertainer's staunch support for Donald Trump and his attempts to crack down on illegal immigration. Kid Rock is a vocal ally of the president and recently appeared at the White House for the signing of an executive order targeting ticket scalpers. Echoing Trump's rhetoric, Kid Rock called immigrants 'murderers' and 'rapists' in a 2024 Rolling Stone interview. It is unclear if Kid Rock owns part of the steakhouse, or merely licenses his name to the business, though he has spoken about being affiliated with the business since before it opened. The Tennessean has described the musician as a partner in the venture. The steakhouse was previously in the headlines in 2020 after being cited for failing to comply with Covid guidelines.
The Guardian
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Kid Rock's restaurant workers asked to go home to avoid rumored Ice raids
The restaurant Kid Rock's was among several others in Nashville owned by the conservative restaurateur and Donald Trump supporter Steve Smith where undocumented kitchen staff were asked to go home to avoid rumored immigration raids this weekend. The restaurant – whose full name is Kid Rock's Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N' Roll Steakhouse, and is licensed by the rightwing musician Kid Rock, who has also become one of the US president's highest-profile supporters – reportedly found itself struggling to serve post-concert crowds on Saturday night after the order from managers instructing employees without legal status to leave, according to the Nashville Scene. 'Around 9.30pm on Saturday, our manager came back and told anyone without legal status to go home,' one anonymous employee told the outlet. 'Events at the Ryman, Ascend, the Savannah Bananas' baseball game all let out, and it was crazy busy. But there was no one in the kitchen to cook the food.' Like Kid Rock, Smith has cultivated a reputation as a vocal conservative, fighting Covid-19 restrictions and backing Trump with campaign donations. Yet the episode appeared to suggest that his establishments – including The Diner and Honky Tonk Central – are partly dependent on the undocumented labor the president has vowed to expel from the US. An aggressive immigration sweep began 3 May, when state troopers and unmarked Ice vehicles dramatically increased traffic stops throughout south Nashville. The operation has netted at least 196 arrests – including 101 individuals with no criminal history, according to a Department of Homeland Security press release. Trump and DHS secretary Kristi Noem have publicly celebrated accelerated deportations nationwide, which have ensnared legal residents alongside undocumented immigrants. Last week, Ice agents visited at least nine restaurants in the Washington DC area. Service disruptions in Nashville continued through Sunday as fearful workers chose to remain home rather than risk detention. Nashville officials, including the mayor and multiple metro councilors, have denounced the raids, but the city's legal director, Wallace Dietz, said local government is 'powerless' against state and federal immigration enforcement actions. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion According to a Rolling Stone profile of Kid Rock, at his concerts he has railed against 'open borders' and echoed Trump's rhetoric on immigration, including claiming that some are 'murderers! They're rapists! They are! MS-13!' In 2019, a second restaurant licensed by Kid Rock in Detroit closed amid backlash over a video of him making profanity-laced comments about Oprah Winfrey while apparently drunk at a Nashville event. The Ilitch family, which owned the arena in which the restaurant was housed, announced that Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, had 'voluntarily decided not to renew' his licensing agreement for Kid Rock's Made in Detroit.
Perth Now
14-05-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Huge change to popular boot scootin' bar in Fremantle
Fremantle's legendary line-dancing locale has plans to expand into a second storey that could enable an extra 300 boot scooters to boogie inside and take the bar's lengthy Saturday night entry line off the street. Honky Tonk Blues has brought a surge of cowboy hats to Fremantle's west end precinct since it opened in July 2023 and is on the brink of welcoming more. 'Our line goes all the way down the street on a Saturday and is there from 6pm until midnight,' co-owner Joshua Paparo said. Your local paper, whenever you want it. 'If we used the upstairs space, which we are already renting, we could get those people off the street and into the building, it would very much be servicing a demand that we have.' Mr Paparo said the first-floor expansion could also create space for private functions and additional line-dancing classes. Lit up like the neon lights of Texas, the bar inside the former Wyola RSL hall on High Street breathes a little bit of life from the southern States of the US. Lit up like the neon lights of Texas, the bar inside the former Wyola RSL hall on High Street breathes a little bit of life from the southern States of the US. Credit: Supplied The 1903-built heritage building was dormant for seven years before the brains behind Fremantle's Jamaican rum bar Jungle Bird, Mr Paparo and Ben Bell, opened the country hotspot with Elvin Hang. City of Fremantle officers backed Honky Tonk's first-floor expansion and recommended councillors approve it at Wednesday's council meeting, even though a number of the venue's residential neighbours have raised concerns about noise. One of the conditions Fremantle officers recommended was insulation for the first-floor ceiling and double-glazed windows to reduce additional noise. 'I completely expect there to be people who complain about noise,' Mr Paparo said. 'There are more and more residents in Fremantle these days but it's a two-way street. If you decide to live in an entertainment precinct, you have to expect some sort of noise. 'We are in the entertainment precinct of Fremantle but we don't want to abuse that fact ... we do our best at all times to be good neighbours. Honky Tonk co-owners Ben Bell and Joshua Paparo with venue manager Guia Manili. Credit: Kelsey Reid / The West Australian 'Some people have taken the view that if there is any noise in the area the blame gets thrown our way, but I have a great relationship with a number of neighbours and they call my mobile and we show them video footage of what's happening in our venue and they often learn the ruckus isn't us.' Noise investigations at Honky Tonk came just weeks after another Fremantle live music venue, Freo Social, was threatened with action by developers of a neighbouring block for being too loud. Industry lobby group West Australian Music executive officer Owen Whittle said he is concerned people are failing to see the positive impact of live music in Fremantle. 'Honky Tonk has had new residential development go up within centimetres and this is a concern,' Mr Whittle said. 'What they have been doing is platforming a significant amount of live music, giving artists more opportunity and if this was taken away you would see a sharp drop in country musicians. 'With respect to residents and the balance that needs to occur, you wouldn't see residents move next door to a school and complain about kids. 'These venues give Freo vibrancy, they are what attracts tourism and people, closing them would leave it a hollow place with no life.'
