Black ex-bartender settles racial discrimination lawsuit with Kid Rock's restaurant

A Black former bartender at Kid Rock’s Made in Detroit settled her racial discrimination lawsuit against the restaurant on Wednesday, the same day it was announced that the eatery would soon close.

Carinne Silverman-Maddox filed a federal lawsuit against the restaurant in January, alleging she was fired for wearing her hair in an Afro.

The terms of the settlement were not revealed, which is typical when two sides of a lawsuit reach an agreement.

Silverman-Maddox’s civil rights attorney Jack Schulz didn’t divulge details, but tells Metro Times "the matter was resolved."

Schulz also represented Tracey Evans, the former manager who recently settled his racial discrimination lawsuit with Founders Brewing Co.

Kid Rock’s restaurant declined to comment and directed questions to Delaware North, which operates the eatery at Little Caesars Arena. Delaware North didn't immediately respond to requests for a response.

Silverman-Maddox alleged in the lawsuit that she came to work with her hair in a "curly afro" for the first time since she started working at the restaurant and was "abruptly suspended ... for allegedly over pouring a single drink."

According to the suit, Silverman-Maddox was the restaurant’s only Black bartender, and her white coworkers often over poured drinks and were not dismissed.

The lawsuit says Silverman-Maddox wasn’t fired until her attorney sent a letter to the restaurant notifying management that a complaint had been filed with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights. Kid Rock, who was not named in the suit, lashed out at the Detroit Free Press over its story about the lawsuit in February.

"More bad journalism," Kid Rock tweeted. "Another attempt to get cheap clicks and views. Only minor investigating instead of immediate reporting would reveal the correct facts."

On the day of the settlement, Ilitch Holdings, which manages Little Caesars Arena, announced it was parting ways with Kid Rock’s restaurant, which had operated at its current location since 2017.

The National Action Network (NAN), a civil rights group that had long opposed Kid Rock’s restaurant at the tax-funded arena, applauded the imminent closure.

Sam Riddle, political director of NAN's Michigan chapter, called Kid Rock "the musical icon of white supremacy" and "a professional hater."

Schulz, who represented Silverman-Maddox for the Detroit-based Sugar Law Center, said the lawsuit and NAN "applied the pressure to drive out racism from Detroit."

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