Sister Louisa’s Church victim of possible hate crime
Credit: Frederick Noble
When Sister Louisa’s Church of Living Room & Ping Pong Emporium first opened a year and a half ago, the tongue-in-cheek bar/shrine to Owner Grant Henry’s brand of kitschy religious-themed folk art ruffled a few feathers in the neighborhood. But, aside from butting heads with some of the churchgoers in the neighborhood, Church has thrived. But this weekend, the bar in Edgewood got a taste of some less than Christian behavior.
In the wee hours of Saturday morning at 5:12 a.m., Henry received a call alerting him to the fact that the motion detectors in the first floor had gone off. By the time he made it over to the bar, the perpetrators had fled and the police had already arrived.
Henry arrived to find multiple windows on the front of the bar smashed out, most of the liquor bottles on display at “the altar” (the downstairs bar) smashed, and perhaps the most nefarious act of vandalism, the beer kegs left running in the hopes of draining them dry.
After observing the crime scene and noting that nothing of value was stolen, despite the fact that things like a laptop computer and a register full of cash were out in plain sight, and that all of the vandalism was targeted at the alcohol and windows with the word “church” or crosses on it, Henry believes it was a hate crime.
Henry tells Atlanta Magazine, “This doesn’t have anything to do with a break in. It was definitely targeted.”
But friends and fans rallied, and the extra business brought in as a show of support on Saturday and Sunday nights helped cover the nearly $3,000 in damage done by the vandals.
As of now, the APD has no suspects.
- By Jon Watson, Food & More blog
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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
79 comments Add your comment
Chris
June 12th, 2012
8:02 am
While my sympathies go out to this small business owner, I hope this doesn’t actually qualify as a hate crime. While I assume vandalizing a religious shrine with anti-religious graffiti would constitute a crime, I have a hard time believing that these laws would extend to protect someone whose “religion” is making fun of other people’s religion. How would this be different from a business being targeted for poor decor? I was tempted to throw paint on the Decatur Diner just because their faux marble painting over concrete was so hideous. I guess I did Hate it, but come on…
Grant Henry
June 12th, 2012
8:18 am
Sister Louisa Art
isn’t created to make fun
of other’s religion;
it is designed to provoke
the thoughts of the reader,
not the thoughts of the artist.
I have heard multiple interpretations
to Sister Louisa Art
ranging from:
“Hallelujia, I love Jesus too!”
to
“Let’s get the hell out of here before lightning strikes us dead!”.
It’s all about love!
Love Crimes for Christ! -Sister Louisa
Vince
June 12th, 2012
8:39 am
Chris — When people try to intimidate you and run you out of the neighborhood, that is a hate crime.
FM Fats
June 12th, 2012
9:06 am
While the Church is not a gay bar, it is gay-owned. And isn’t all crime hate crime when you come right down to it? F*** fear!
Lorie
June 12th, 2012
9:11 am
Unfortunately it was a hate crime. An absolute shame that different views and opinions can’t be respected or tolerated.
Grasshopper
June 12th, 2012
9:18 am
Maybe the vandals were practicing their own form of ‘art?’
Newbie?
June 12th, 2012
9:37 am
Well, I have to say that I had not heard of this place before this article, so if any “good” can come from this crime, due to this article, I plan to pay them a visit.
This place sounds like fun!
Laura
June 12th, 2012
9:59 am
Newbie–Your assumption is correct–this place is awesome. It’s received tons of national press coverage and the owner and staff are fun, all-around nice people. Definitely check it out and show our local businesses some love!
Sensationalistic
June 12th, 2012
10:18 am
If this happened at any other bar, where psychopathic vandals broke in and did nothing for their benefit (take money) would it still be a hate crime?
I’ll be the first to say that the bar has perfectly situated itself with this. No, I am not saying that they deserve it at all. Nobody deserves vandalism. But if they placed their bar on 14th Street across from the Mosque in Home Park and had paintings of Muhammad that were as tongue-in-cheek, then somebody would be getting offended.
MJB
June 12th, 2012
10:20 am
Very unfortunate and despicable act by someone in our community. However, that does not make it a hate crime. There’s no GA state hate crime law, for one. Secondly, there’s no evidence this was motivated by animus for race or sexual orientation. You can’t prove such animus exists merely by pointing to the lack of any evidence for it, as here. I say this just in case anyone wonders why no hate crime charges will be brought even if they do catch the offender. This is criminal damage to property, plain and simple.
That said, these lowlives need hugs. Ironically, Grant Henry would be just the sort of person to give them one.
Sensationalistic
June 12th, 2012
10:21 am
That said, I live within walking distance and have been before. It’s a good place to go and I’ll come back again. Good to hear that they are back in the normal swing of things.
Edward
June 12th, 2012
11:15 am
So the fact that the vandalism targeted certain aspects while ignoring valuables doesn’t lead you to believe it was a hate crime? Yeah, love that denial you’ve got built up, there. This act was so obviously done as a threat to the business, owners, and customers of this establishment. It was a threatening message.
I’m sure the perpetrators prayed long and hard over it.
Chas
June 12th, 2012
11:55 am
If this is a hate crime it is hatred of jerks. That bar is a testament to one jerks ego and everyone else’s feelings be damned. This guy has exploited every know device to further his celebrity. You cannot taunt people and disrespect things they hold true and not get a reaction. An experiment: get on a city bus and poke everyone that gets on in the chest with your finger. See what happens. Better yet, open a bar near Ansley mall that makes fun of gays in a way that is legal but rude. Grant Henry is a self serving jerk.
stephieZ
June 12th, 2012
1:41 pm
Right Chas. The way we should deal with people who don’t agree with us or aren’t “lie” us is to destroy their stuff. Seriously?
stephieZ
June 12th, 2012
1:41 pm
*like
T ODonnell
June 12th, 2012
1:50 pm
Hate to tell folks this, but ‘Aethism’ and ‘Agnosticism’ are also “belief systems”, and therefore are also protected speech under the Constitution.
For instance, when a synagogue is defaced/bombed/burned, nobody argues whether or not a Hate Crime has been committed — it’s all but assumed, and can be easily proven in most instances where any foul play in involved.
Belief systems in and of themselves have nothing to do with Theism, per se. Which is precisely why anti-rational idiots can go around spewing nonsense like “Dinosaurs were on board Noah’s Ark!” without being laughed out of the Supreme Court – it’s their RIGHT to believe that nonsense.
Therefore, if the owners/patrons of Church want to wear their underwear on the OUTSIDE of their clothing, like Madonna, well that’s a fashion statement — and as such, since it doesn’t defy any local or state laws, it’s also protected expression under Free Speech.
Yet further: If, in someone else’s point of view Church wants to ‘deface’ their OWN property with their OWN art, that’s great — it’s protected, and it’s also free speech. Defacing someone ELSE’s property however, over THEIR beliefs (example, the ‘belief’ that religion is perhaps anachronistic, overblown and hypocritical, and maybe needs to cultivate a sense of humor about itself)?
THAT’S criminal behavior, and is not protected under law whatsoever. It may also constitute a bias, or Hate Crime.
T ODonnell
June 12th, 2012
1:52 pm
A quick reminder for everyone who loves freedom of expression:
“Art is dangerous.”
Ned Ludd
June 12th, 2012
1:57 pm
And the food part of this article is where?
Chas
June 12th, 2012
2:14 pm
Grant is having a great time
Turning people against each other
Cause his ego is insatiable
He has no talent
And fosters I’ll will
To serve the same ego.
He also thinks that by writing
In a column
It makes his childish babble
Look like something
Other than the garbage
It is
Crime is crime
And he is criminally using this issue.
ron chandonia
June 12th, 2012
2:41 pm
This place is right across the street from our church, and it is deeply offensive, not only because it uses Christian symbols to ridicule religious faith but also because it takes specific aim at the namesake of the historic district in which it is located, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. There is a “hate crime” going on over there, but it did not start with this latest bit of vandalism. In fact, it would not surprise me to learn that this was staged to get the place another bit of media attention; you can’t get Lady Gaga there every weekend.
Chas
June 12th, 2012
2:52 pm
Right on Ron. At least someone hasn’t drunk the kool aid. Everyone who knows him has had the same thought. That it would not be above him to do it himself..hmmm…sure does garner a lot of press. Wake up people you are being played!
Ned Ludd
June 12th, 2012
3:43 pm
Quite the moralization going on here…Maybe Food And Mores is more apropos Mr. K.
Edward
June 12th, 2012
4:14 pm
Grant has every right to poke fun at your religion as you have to express your religion. Respect is earned, you don’t get it automatically just by calling yourself a christian or a church goer. I never saw Grant or any of his patrons vandalizing your church. Yet you tacitly condone the vandalizing of his business. I think the APD needs to get a warrant to find out the IP address (and name and address) of “ron chandonia” because it seems to me he/she/it has just become a person of interest in the crime, as well as “Chas”.
This is exactly why I automatically distrust anyone who brandishes their religion like a badge, I see it as a sign of questionable character. My prima facie opinion is seldom proven incorrect.
Chas
June 12th, 2012
5:37 pm
Ooooh witch hunt! Witch hunt! Oh boy!
sansho1
June 13th, 2012
7:07 am
T O’Donnell says “Defacing someone ELSE’s property however, over THEIR beliefs (the ‘belief’ that religion is perhaps anachronistic, overblown and hypocritical, and maybe needs to cultivate a sense of humor about itself)…may also constitute a bias, or Hate Crime.”
See, this is one reason I don’t care for hate crime legislation. The behavior itself is criminal, and there are laws on the books to deal with it. Creating a hate crime designation puts us in the business of reading people’s minds, and I have very little use for that. Not to mention, your example (an expression that religion is anachronistic, etc.) is not itself a religion, or a race, or an ethnicity…it’s just an opinion around which it’s holder has adorned some bar kitsch and sought to make a buck. So now a hate crime can be defined as property crime stemming from a difference in opinion? While there’s nothing wrong with that, and I have friends who are Sister Louisa denizens, I can’t support that notion. Punishing the behavior constitutes justice IMO.
sansho1
June 13th, 2012
7:09 am
Bad self-editing…I meant there’s nothing wrong with trying to make a buck….
Grant Henry
June 13th, 2012
10:14 am
For clarification
of the tone of voice
from “Chas”,
I have identical emails
from “Chas”
when I opened CHURCH
and the positive press
started coming my way.
The emails have
the same language,
the exact same phrases,
and sentences,
even down to criticizing
my style of writing.
Truth be known,
I learned to write
by reading
Dr. Suess.
It is apparent
that this “Chas”
is the same “Chas”
who owns a bar in Atlanta
that I used to bartend at
who stated that
it was unethical
for me to leave
his local bar
and open a bar
so “near” to his bar.
Jealousy ain’t pretty
on “Chas”,
or anyone.
I’m sorry he feels this way.
BTW,
“Chas”,
thanks for the opportunity
that you gave me
at your bar.
I love that place.
Best of continued luck to you.
As for the rest of Atlanta,
I am overwhelmed
with the love,
care ,
and concern
that I have received
during the aftermath
of this unfortunate
incident.
Thank You.
It’s all about love!
Chas
June 13th, 2012
10:41 am
Yes Grant it is that Chas.
And as long as you
Act like the creep you are
And try to make my city look
Like a place for hate crimes
I will continue
To expose you
As the manipulative
Lying jerk
You are.
Chas
June 13th, 2012
10:45 am
It’s all about self love Grant, you left that out.
Audrey Miles
June 13th, 2012
11:04 am
This place is truly fun. I love it. And you can feel love and acceptance everytime you go in. Straight people and Gay people both frequent the bar and it’s eccletic art. It saddens me to read the ignorance (not hatred) from people who have never gone there for drinks and talked with patrons. Whether you chose to return would be entirely up to you … but at least go for a few hours, talk to a few people for more than 10 minutes each and THEN decide whether Church is a positive or a negative for the community. I see it solely as a positive, especially since on my way there from Cobb, I stop and shop in the area!
patrick
June 13th, 2012
11:05 am
sounds like chas needs our prayers,
kneeling before my flaming buddha mandala,
i will beseech the gods to improve chas business
or at least his manners..
Chip Dowes
June 13th, 2012
11:15 am
I’ll start by saying I like the bar.
I like it quite a bit. I also knew the theme would ruffle feathers, considering the historic district in which it was opened.
To expect otherwise was naive.
Maybe Mr. Henry and Chas can stop the back and forth long enough for Mr. Henry to answer these questions…
-Was there, or was there not direct evidence that this was a crime committed because the theme of the establishment parodies Christian Themes or the owner is gay?
-Did the criminals spray paint a slur somewhere that is not being reported?
-Did they deface anything other than a window with a rock or breaking bottles?
-Did every window with the word “Church” or the image of a “Cross” get broken?
-Is there a suspect saying this was motivated by the theme of the bar and Mr. Henry’s sexual orientation? -Is this just conjecture that the bar was targeted for a hate crime?
-If this is being considered by authorities as a hate crime, beyond someone in the Investigative Unit saying it is (as per the original Atlanta Magazine article), is there a taskforce set up?
I’m asking, because none of this has been mentioned. I’ve been robbed 5 times over the last 3 years and it’s been TEENAGERS. They break stuff, vandalize things and leave once they get spooked. They have never stolen anything.
Is that what constitutes a hate crime now? A break-in that results in just vandalism and no theft? Is there is direct evidence of being a crime motivated by something other than possibly being a dumb kids? If so please enlighten us as to that evidence.
If there is direct evidence of a hate crime I will be the first to lend support to finding the criminals who did this. If this is just a “feeling,” that it was a hate crime, then it was not a hate crime. A break in and vandalism of your business hurts your feelings. It makes you feel violated. It feels personal and hateful. Not all break-ins and instances of vandalism have anything past youthful indiscretion behind it though.
All break-ins and vandalism are targeted crimes.
From my experience there are far more windows and vandalism committed by teens and kids than by religious homophobes.
Thanks, I look forward to the clarification on the situation.
emilydiff
June 13th, 2012
11:19 am
I have never been anything but impressed and inspired by the work that Grant Henry does and the fellowship that Church provides. Church is an open and caring business that caters to a wide variety of clientele – religious, spiritual, atheist (why should it matter?) – and rewards customer loyalty with exceptional service and fun programming as most successful business are wont to do.
Whether you call this a hate crime or not, it’s in the past now, and Church has risen above it.
And, re: Chas. Using my powers of deduction, I will say in reference to “his local bar,” – I continue to patronize it also, despite continued “updates” that have changed the atmosphere, clientele and even quality of food/suppliers. For 6 years it was my go-to place, and now I sometimes feel downright alienated by servers and an ever-changing menu. It ain’t broke. Stop “fixing” it. Maybe you could tend to your own issues, instead of stone-throwing.
Saintly Monica
June 13th, 2012
11:20 am
I think Chas did it!!
Saintly Monica
June 13th, 2012
11:21 am
He is clearly a hater!
Brother Dick
June 13th, 2012
11:24 am
Dear Jesus,
This world is a very confusing place with
Very hurt humans wandering around
smearing your Vision of Forgiveness and Love, claiming they are your students.
This is nothing new…it has been happening for over 2,000 years
since you’re physical form evaporated and you became
a Light of Love radiating secretly but steadily in our minds.
As a very bad “Buddhist” who works at CHURCH
and is beginning to see YOU as one of my teachers,
and who Loves Church and who Loves the “Other” bar
that Chas is wearing around his chest, covering his sweet, (secret) heart,
I have to say that conflating Grant’s ego with Church having great success
is a dark road that leads nowhere….but to bitterness.
Love is your teaching and love is the secret
ingredient that makes Sister Louisa’s Church purr and hum
like a sexy kitty.
Any misunderstanding is simply that….an error of perception.
So Jesus, please love on Chas and ask him to come to Church
and have a sangria on Brother Dick, and we’ll let the hurt settle,
and move towards Healing and Joy and Infinite Gratitude
for the Grace that you allow us to find in
the midst of pain and destruction and Uncertainty
that seems to follow us everywhere these days.
Yours truly, Jesus,
Brother Dick
Chas
June 13th, 2012
11:26 am
Emily please stop patronizing it. Thank you. It’s all about the love.
Judge Smails
June 13th, 2012
11:28 am
Does anyone have a good recipe for Flan? Seriously, everyone needs to calm down!
Chip Dowes
June 13th, 2012
11:28 am
“Whether you call this a hate crime or not, it’s in the past now, and Church has risen above it. ”
Actually no, it’s not. Every time it’s reported as a “hate crime” it is not in the past. As long as the Owner discusses the issue in open comments, it seems to be ongoing.
Still curious as to the questions I posed earlier.
Thanks.
Chas
June 13th, 2012
11:35 am
Chip you are obviously a hater too.
Ned Ludd
June 13th, 2012
11:35 am
Wow…Give peas a chance!
emilydiff
June 13th, 2012
11:38 am
@Chas. I have enjoyed your establishment for years. I have continued to sing your praises to friends and out-of-towners and have given you A LOT of my money. I was there last week in fact. But if you hate your customers so much, for simply supporting other local business owners, then cool. I’ll spend my money where its wanted.
ehggzz
June 13th, 2012
11:39 am
Dear Chas,
You can’t love others, if you don’t love yourself.
Even if what you say about Grant is accurate, he has the right to purse happiness and success for himself. While you may not like the fact that his business is doing well, it is in no way “unethical” to open another bar in a city full of them…competition is one of the very basic premises of a “free market” model. You would be better served by allowing yourself to move past the “hate” you harbor, and move on with the business of your own happiness and success…
Chip Dowes
June 13th, 2012
11:41 am
Actually Chas I am not. I am nothing like you. I have specific questions about the break in. I take hate crimes in my City seriously. The reporting on this so far has been lousy.
Keep me out of your feud.
emilydiff
June 13th, 2012
11:41 am
@Chip – I agree, we could probably cool it with all the Facebook posts and the media stories about whether it is or is not a hate crime. And I’m with you – I thought it was APD who initially suggested it.
But ultimately, Grant and his patrons are feeling violated (regardless of the intent). All of us are expressing our frustration in a number of ways, just like anyone would in the event that their home/business was violated or targeted.
In the end, they will rise above it. Trust.
Judge Smails
June 13th, 2012
11:45 am
This reminds me of the on-going feud between Cheers and Gary’s Olde Town Tavern! Maybe a softball game would settle matters?
Matt
June 13th, 2012
11:49 am
Think of all the problems that wouldn’t exist if Jesus had just turned that water into vodka?
Chip Dowes
June 13th, 2012
11:55 am
@emilydiff, Yes I understand the feelings of violation personally, and I’m also a patron of the bar.
I just feel like we do NO good throwing the words “Hate Crime” around if there isn’t evidence to support it. I’m asking questions to clarify that usage.
Facebook users are just re-posting “news” items using the same info from the first Atlanta Mag article.
“Damages are estimated at $3,000. “This doesn’t have anything to do with a break in,” Henry says. “It was definitely targeted.”
At 5:12 am on Saturday, Henry answered a call from his alarm company alerting him to motion on the bar’s first floor. By the time he arrived minutes later, police were already on the scene. The front door windows, which depicted crosses, were both smashed. Bricks had been thrown through a window with the word “Church.” Henry stood outside while police investigated.
“The investigative unit came in and did what they do. Then they came out and said that it is clearly a hate crime. Because they didn’t steal anything, they took nothing, they left things of value, and they only targeted the word church and they targeted the booze behind the bar, you know, on the altar.” ”
This is the only info that somehow makes this a hate crime. I’m only asking for clarification from Mr. Henry.
Good discussion!
Shawn
June 13th, 2012
11:56 am
Ron – The true irony is that you don’t see that perhaps your church across the street is equally offensive to people who don’t share your faith. For example, anti-gay sentiment or believing that non-Christians are going to hell greatly offends me (and probably the people that go to Sister Louisa’s), but that doesn’t mean I would condone anyone blowing out your stained glass or spray painting the Jesus statue. The double standard is amazing.
As far as Chas goes, maybe you’re experience with Grant is different than mine, but he is nothing like what you seem to say he is, as far as my interactions with him has gone. Unfortunately, you are making yourself seem bitter and angry and have an ax to grind. The fact that you would even make a half-assed attempt to marginalize someones business being vandalized speaks a lot more to your character than what you are attempting to due to Grant’s. If you do in fact own a bar, I would bet dollars to donuts that, if someone were to destroy your property because they that you were a jerk, Grant wouldn’t be going onto the AJC anonymously and saying things like you are saying here. Even if I’m wrong and Grant is the person you seem to think he is, the issue remains that it doesn’t warrant someone vandalizing his business. But apparently, you seem to think that it does.
lorielle
June 13th, 2012
11:58 am
Wow. Just wow. I want to know which bar “Chas” owns so I can *never* go there. And I will frequent Church more often.