Employee injured in fight at Sidetrack Bar and Grill, Ypsilanti police say
Editor's note: The headline of this story has been revised, and comments from the business owner were added.
An employee at the Sidetrack Bar and Grill was injured when a fight broke out there during New Year's Eve festivities, Ypsilanti police said.
Officers were called to the bar at 56 East Cross Street at 2:12 a.m. Saturday on reports of a large fight there, police said.
By the time officers arrived, those involved in the fight had fled, reports said.
Sgt. Tom Eberts said Sunday it was unclear how many people were involved in the fight, or what prompted it.
Sidetrack owner Linda French said the fight was between two people, and an employee who intervened to break it up was punched.
The employee suffered a cut under his right eye, Eberts said. Huron Valley Ambulance paramedics responded to evaluate him, Eberts said.
No one was arrested, but the incident remains under investigation.
Comments
Killroy
Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 8:59 a.m.
With the exception of the Thompson block, Depot Town is a beautiful and elegant place to have a great time with friends, family, and meet new people. Linda French and her family have done wonders for the area and I prefer to spend my money in Depot Town any given day over downtown A2. Thanks Linda for giving us the real scoop and all the best to the waiter.
talker
Mon, Jan 3, 2011 : 11:02 p.m.
Nicholas Hersey's post is the news account of what happened and clears up any doubts some people may have had after the original story. We live in Ann Arbor and enjoy going to Sidetrack. In fact, this coordinated intervention from Sidetrack staff sends a message to any potential troublemakers to stay away.
UgottaBkidding
Mon, Jan 3, 2011 : 10:39 p.m.
What happened to those famous FOOT PATROLS in Depot Town the YpsiPD was advertising months before???
Dawn
Mon, Jan 3, 2011 : 7:26 p.m.
LOL @ LARGE BAR FIGHT..that is was indeed not. I have seen bigger fights and Micky d's in the kids play area.
Ralph
Mon, Jan 3, 2011 : 5:03 p.m.
My wife and I love the Side Track! Remember the Alibi Bar across the street?
MyFirstDegreeWasMedia
Mon, Jan 3, 2011 : 2:20 p.m.
@AnnArbor.com staff @all users @ all commentators; To help set the record straight, I would like to begin by introducing myself. My name is Nicholas Hersey, the employee at Sidetrack injured in the "Large bar fight" on New Year's Eve. First off, I would like to voice my displeasure with AnnArbor.com for not double, and triple checking their sources on this particular piece of news. The first rule of journalism, is to maintain your credibility by means of credible research and sources. I was not contacted in any way, shape, or form before said story was posted to clarify any facts that may have remained unclear in the police report, or that may have left room for speculation. If the journalist in charge of this article was so easily able to obtain this police report, it would have been just as easy for him/her to contact me as both my name and number were given to Officer Gress. Now with that said, here is what really happened. Around the time of 2:00 a.m. on New Years Day 2011, an altercation occurred between two gentleman at the bar. I quickly ushered one to the back to get him out of confrontation, when I heard some commotion up front as the other gentleman was being escorted out. I made my way up to the front to assist, and make sure that the other party was out of the restaurant so that no one would further be involved in the incident. It was at this point where I stepped in between the other gentleman involved (who was already outside) and the door to make sure he did not enter again. While I was at the door, I received a blow to the eye, not from the man involved, but from someone who was already outside of the restaurant. It is also important to point out, that I was not hit by a bottle, or a glass. It was nothing more than a punch. I received onlyn a small cut below my eye that was caused by my glasses. Another point I would like to make, is that I refused medical treatment, and the Huron Valley Ambulance was never dispatched. It is hard for me to see in any stretch of the imagination how this could be misconstrued as a "Large bar fight". For the last three years, I have been an employee at the Sidetrack on and off, as well as a patron, and this the first occasion in which anyone has ever gotten physical. In fact, I left my last job bar tending, at a bar which I will not name, located in Ann Arbor because there were consistent fights. So to those inferring that Ypsilanti, or the Sidetrack are unsafe, I urge you to hang around some of the other college bars in Ann Arbor and do some first person research. If there is anyone who questions the validity of my statements, or of who I am, I welcome you to contact me.
4 Fingers
Mon, Jan 3, 2011 : 2:08 p.m.
I love Sidetrack, and agree Linda French does a great job running that bar. Now that Pub13/Savoy has closed I bet we'll see an influx of this behavior in Depot Town.
Marcy
Mon, Jan 3, 2011 : 11:35 a.m.
my comments always get removed too....guess I should i read the guidlines......but anyway......this is the first I have heard of a fight at the sidetrack. I think its great we have an area of ypsi where folks can hang out and feel somewhat safe!
AndyYpsilanti
Mon, Jan 3, 2011 : 11:06 a.m.
@Rusty, read my comment again. I talked to people who witnessed the altercation, to someone who had been told the story by a "victim" of the "fight" and got an email from Linda French, owner of the Sidetrack, after questioning why her explanation of the "fight" had been deleted by aa.com. I put about 15 minutes of time and effort into the whole thing; I asked someone I knew had been there that night, then the roommate of the person involved who told me the same story, and then got an email this morning. I didn't just parrot something I read. On the other hand, aa.com's research for the story consisted of looking at the police blotter and making up a headline. They might have talked to the police, but more likely, are just quoting the police report. While aa.com likely can't make the eye witness connections I did in Depot Town, they could easily have placed a call or email to Sidetracks and gotten more information. Now, do you think this was the only incident of this type that garnered a police response on New Years? Do you think there was not one single blip like this anywhere else in the area? Not one altercation at any bar or club in all of A2 and the surrounding area? If you are going to yank this one item off the Amateur Night police blotter, why not put in that extra 10 minutes of effort to find out if its really a story? I have never said I think aa.com is purposely trying to write stories to slander Ypsilanti. What I have said is that a collection of poor reporting makes it appear as if they were trying to slander Ypsilanti. Spotty coverage, lack of knowledge of the city, and a tendency to favor more sensational sounding stories causes the problem, and its not new, it's inherited from the AANews. To be fair, coverage has improved recently. However, when you see this type of thing pop up as a featured story on twitter, it's fair to question that thought process for a police blotter item. What makes this a story of interest more than any other blotter item? I would hazard to guess that, had it not appeared on the twitter feed, this article would have been the subject of little or no comment. I don't think its too outrageous to demand better local coverage. I mean, call me crazy, but I would think that someone who is a reporter working Ypsilanti should know who Linda French is. I guess I'm just old school.
actionjackson
Mon, Jan 3, 2011 : 10:32 a.m.
@scotsky To all you others knocking Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti offers more than Ann Arbor with it's elite stuck up attitude. Why would you brag about people from your own town having elite, stuck up attitudes?
Veracity
Mon, Jan 3, 2011 : 10:08 a.m.
Linda French, the owner of Sidetrack, stated in her comment that the "fight" involved two men which does not qualify as a "large fight" as is mentioned in the title of the story. My wife and I visit Sidetrack frequently because we like the food and the atmosphere. We have visited the restaurant/bar at various different times and have never found it rowdy. This incident seems like it could occur at most any bar or restaurant. It is even difficult to know for certain how much alcohol was involved. As I view this event as unusual and singular, my wife and I will continue to dine at Sidetrack without any concerns about our well-being.
rusty shackelford
Mon, Jan 3, 2011 : 9:55 a.m.
Deborah: excellent post. Amateur hour indeed. Although to be honest, the same could be said about MOST hours in ArborYpsi. I don't doubt that the proportion of "appletinis" was much higher on NYE, though. AndyYpsi: on the one hand, you're right that annarbor.com has a habit of basically just copying and pasting brief police reports as news. But they do that for most crime stories. You and many others from Ypsi seem to think everyone is out to "get" the town, and the paranoid streak in so many of its residents just makes the town seem all the more pathetic. Finally, your journalistic solution seems to be just taking the word of the bar owner (who has a clear interest in minimizing the incident) at face value. That's hardly hard-hitting reporting, either. If the story was so straightforward, so easy to ascertain, why were the cops so uncertain what happened? Perhaps the staff/ownership hoped to keep things hushed, and didn't cooperate as fully as they might have, and now that the incident is public, suddenly gets all defensive? I'd suggest you do some more sleuthing around "Depot Town," but those kind of questions might be too uncomfortable for such fierce civic boosters.
Atticus F.
Mon, Jan 3, 2011 : 9:47 a.m.
I'm trying to understand, what exactly is so bothersome to some of the people posting about this situation? Is it the agony of having to read about it in the paper? Or did the disturbance somehow wake you out of bed?
AndyYpsilanti
Mon, Jan 3, 2011 : 8:18 a.m.
It doesn't take much effort to find out the real story. It took me about 10 minutes in Depot Town to find someone who knew the details. There was a drunk girl who was flirting with a regular patron of Sidetracks, and she decided to give this person her phone number. Her male companion didn't take kindly to that, and blind side tackled the regular patron. Several people moved to break up the altercation, and one of them, an employee of Sidetrack, was hit in the process. Thats it. There never was a "large fight". All it would have taken for aa.com to report what really happened was a call to the Sidetrack, but, apparently, that's too much work for a story about Ypsi. Oh, and no this isn't speculation, I got the story from several witnesses and the roommate of the person who was attacked, as well a via email from the owner of the Sidetrack. @Stephanie, you should fire your weekend moderator. If Linda's comment was "too speculative" then 75% of what is written in the comments of aa.com should be removed. There is rampant and wild speculation all of the time in the comments section, but aa.com makes a habit of removing posts that could actually clear things up, much like Linda's: "The "fight" at the Sidetrack involved a Veteran who had been home from Iraq for 4 days. It was over a girl and the wait person stepped between the guys and received a punch. Not much of a brawl." That's less speculative than the headline and tone of your article. As for twitter, you're saying this was the most interesting article posted on Sunday? It contains almost no information. Again, there was clearly not even a call placed to the establishment where this event took place, just an attempt to make a story from a vague item on the daily police reports.
JenLeach
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 8:01 p.m.
As a former employee and long-time customer of the Sidetrack, I can assure you that this is still a very safe establshment at any time of day. This article was poorly written and is being blown way out of proportion. Sidetrack Rocks!
Cash
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 6:47 p.m.
Bear, Well, if you think too much drinking doesn't cause problems,you are incorrect. A person doesn't have to be a teetotaler to recognize what happens when some people drink too much.That's reality. Alcohol is a drug. Alcohol abuse does cause problems every day, including death. Let's not be blind to that. It can happen anywhere when people drink too much....zip code is irrelevant. Moderators have posted the rules for conversations here....at the bottom of the page. We agree to them when we get an ID. So, if we don't agree, we post somewhere else. Pretty simple.
Bear
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 5:43 p.m.
ah the stupidity and casting about of stereotypical aspersions about both ann arbor & ypislanti. Makes me ill to know there is still so much hostility in the holier than thou crowd. All over a small fight that was blown out of proportion by a news blogger with few facts. Ann Arbor is not a town full of 'elites'. Ypsilanti is not 'iffy' at best. There are panhandlers in both towns, and i don't see why you should bring them into the conversation at all. And to you teetotalers out there who blame life's woes on alcohol 'get a life' and quit trying to run everyone else's. Naysayers, gossipers and tsk-tsk'ers seem to be mostly what posts on the comments section. As for moderators, when are you all going to quit with the censoring? Reporters aren't supposed to be censors. But then again, investigative reporting in this country is all but dead. We just wrote what was on the police report.... really? wow.
Dawn
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 4:53 p.m.
Sidetracks is safe and so is depot town. I have lived here since March and I LOVE IT HERE!! I have been around at night here myself and i dont feel any less safe than anywhere else. This is not Detroit people! Fights happen anywhere. I love sidetrack. Who wouldnt love a place that does so much for their community??
Annie
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 2:50 p.m.
I've lived in both Depot Town and not far from downtown Ann Arbor, and I find that Depot Town is quite safe, and generally safer than a walk through downtown Ann Arbor when the clubs are emptying out. I've never EVER had a problem at Sidetracks and love the establishment. As another poster has already said: This is the exception, and most certainly not the norm.
AndyYpsilanti
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 2:49 p.m.
@skotsky's comment would seem to indicate that Linda, the owner of Sidetrack, left a comment explaining what happened. @Stephanie, is this one of the off topic comments? I find the practice of deleting comment from people involved in the story distressing, especially considering how little info you provide here. Also, how is it that this is one of the only stories aa.com has posted on twitter today? This is the most newsworthy story of the day?
Cash
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 2:13 p.m.
xmo, Your mom was very wise.
xmo
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 2:01 p.m.
Like Mom use to say " nothing good happens after mid-night!
djm12652
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 1:49 p.m.
One of the biggest issues facing our current society is the fact that there is a whole generation of people whose parents failed to instill upon them the fact that there are consequences for their actions [always someone else's fault]. I lived in Depot Town in a loft two doors down from Side Track and now I live downtown A2. The people causing the "problems" generally only have one difference, their zip codes. Depot Town is lucky it doesn't have the A2 "club" problems like the clubs on Fourth Ave. as well as one on Fifth. And yes, New Year's Eve is for amateurs. People without the ability to ascertain their limitations often fall prey to the beginnings of a liftime of drinking and/or violence. Young people that show violent tendencies now while drinking will quite often go on to be in abusing relationships. Moreso, I fail to see how starting out a new year while being hungover with puke in one's hair and vague memories of what behaviors one showed, or where the black eye or bruises came from, is a good thing. I didn't see Linda's comment before it was removed but knowing the "censors" on this blog, it may very well have be relevant but not valid in the biased reporting so often displayed here...and to skotsky...anywhere you have a college town with youth embedded with the "entitlement" attitude you will have the elitist attitudes...like I said, only difference is the zip code.
Mike
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 1:39 p.m.
Not much in the way of reporting.
Rusnak
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 1:28 p.m.
this guy will be found soon enough, big brother is all over the ceiling.
Rusnak
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 1:25 p.m.
Linda, you should have reported the story yourself. Thanks for the real story. You run a great restaurant/bar and are an asset to the community. To all you others knocking Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti offers more than Ann Arbor with it's elite stuck up attitude.
joe golder
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 1:14 p.m.
Its big compared to # of bars for the size of the community.You are right county kate ypsi doesn't have a corner on the market. I'm talking to the problems of alcohol and not the sacred depot town side track. Alcohol is a problem period. Maybe other cities have the police to baby sit problem drinkers but ypsi doesn't. I would much rather see police providing patrols in neighborhoods than spending time in the bar districts.
Linda
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 1:10 p.m.
The "fight" at the Sidetrack involved a Veteran who had been home from Iraq for 4 days. It was over a girl and the wait person stepped between the guys and received a punch. Not much of a brawl.
CountyKate
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 12:55 p.m.
@joe golder, drinking is big business anywhere on New Year's Eve and in many places at all times of the year. I assure you, Ypsilanti doesn't have a corner on the market. The Sidetrack is a great place and I know it to be a well-run establishment. This incident was an exception, not the norm. @Jesse Lambert, try being in downtown Ann Arbor at night and you'll find it is just as, if not more, "iffy" than Depot Town. I think it's worse, because there are so many panhandlers in A2. That's the reality of just about anywhere right now. Depot Town is actually tons better than it used to be.
Marcy
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 12:32 p.m.
This is worthy of a news story???
joe golder
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 12:25 p.m.
Alcohol has been and is big business in ypsilanti. It would be nice to see local police agencies spending less time baby sitting drunks and more time making our community safer. Maybe closing bars in ypsilanti earlier would help. Late night drinkers only spell trouble for under resourced police depts. Although it does create jobs for servers, cab drivers, cooks, lawyers, tow trucks, emergency rooms and the court systems. Alcohol is as dangerous as any drug. I'm all for responsible drinking but when some people drink their usually not capable of keeping their actions under control.
Jack
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 11:56 a.m.
Who, where, what, when. We can infer the why. I think the piece was more than adequate.
Dawn Nelson
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 11:20 a.m.
@ deborah: yes, amateur hour is fitting. stuff like this is why I stay home eve after eve. This reminds me of a recent article investigating underage drinking in the area, with commentary that suggested evaluating all of the community culture to understand the norms for alcohol consumption. As a parent with small kids, I would appreciate more analysis of how local community values alcohol consumption, as well as the violence that often comes along with it.
Jesse
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 11:14 a.m.
Since I've been working next to sidetrack's I have found depot town and night be a very iffy place. So it does not surprise me one bit.
EightySeven
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 11:09 a.m.
This is sad on many different levels. Sidetrack has always been known a safe bar I sure hope this isn't a sign of a new crowd taking over. Also wondering the people fighting may have been on the Frenchies side.
Deborah
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 10:46 a.m.
alcohol and amateurs just do not mix. I avoid the roads on New Years Eve as all the people who hardly drink all year go out and tie one on only to start the year in the hospital or a jail cell. I call it the amateur hour and celebrate safely in my basement though there was an accident outside my door on that night too so I may not be as safe in my basement as I thought.
nickcarraweigh
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 : 10:38 a.m.
Not sure if he got punched in the face or hit with a bottle? That's a man who had the New Year rung in on him.