Black-Owned Hi-Fi Lounge Faces Backlash, Name Change

0:00A black-owned high-fi lounge called Sundown was set to open in Kansas City's new $1 billion riverfront spot at current landing, but the owner pulled the plug after major backlash over the name. The lounge got announced last Friday as a cool audio-bar experience, but by Monday, DJ and owner, Cassio McCombs, said on Instagram it was off due to the uproar. McCombs picked the name to reclaim and face head-on-the-ugly history of places that banned black folks after dark, especially in Missouri, but folks saw it as insensitive and tied to races past. Local fan group KC Blue Crew slammed it hard, calling for a name switch and more spotlight on the city's black achievements while the developer stayed. Quiet? McCombs the firm on his vision, bummed by the quick online fire but eyeing other spots to launch Sundown down the line, turning controversy into A. Bigger Convo. This has been Kansas News Today, powered by AI.