MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County’s health department director says lessons have been learned after a huge party in Hickory Hill sparked backlash from city and county leaders last month.
The party, called The All Black Affair, was held in a tent in the parking lot of the lounge In Love Memphis. Videos surfaced of hundreds of people — including Grizzlies star player Ja Morant — packed in the tent, wearing few masks and not social distancing.
The health department director says after an internal investigation there will be changes moving forward. The event left leaders across the city questioning why it wasn’t shut down, even after health inspectors visited the site.
The report we uncovered only shows three inspectors visiting once. But health department leaders told us in the past that investigators actually went twice, once before the event even started.
Records show when the inspectors showed up they saw a problem, writing that they observed a lack of social distancing with people waiting in line, but the majority of people had a mask on.
Inspectors did note there were social distancing markers and saw temperature checks happening.
They also went on to say the tents looked to be at 50% capacity, but their arrival time was 8 to 8:45 in the evening.
Images captured throughout the night showed a packed party with few wearing masks. Health department leaders said publicly had they been notified of the issues, the party would’ve been shut down, saying they planned to investigate internally.
“What we look for is opportunities to improve, not necessarily what went right or wrong,” Dr. Alisa Haushalter said of the investigation.
The department’s director says at the time of the party, inspectors were unclear if a tent is considered indoor or outdoor.
“In my opinion the decision to close came a little bit later than I would have preferred, but those lessons have all been applied. Training has been done with staff, we have protocols in place,” Haushalter said.
She says the club’s owner, Curtis Givens, has since worked with the department to be in compliance after his business temporarily closed. We’ve tried multiple times to speak with Givens but have not received a response.
The party sparked bigger conversation about enforcement. The county commission recently passed a new ordinance for fines if inspectors see problems: $50 per violation up to a cap of $500 for the first violation.
The ordinance allows interim action prior to closure but if there are significant offense there could be a fine as well as closure. But those fines aren’t in place just yet.
“What we have to do relative to protocols is have a clearly written protocol for the inspectors to follow. That has to be approved by myself, the mayor and county attorney,” Haushalter said.
The department is in the process of finalizing the document and having it reviewed so they can issue citations in the future.