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

A 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.

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