Alesia Francavilla (Screenshot from WDIV video)
Alisia Francavilla (Screenshot from WDIV video)
The alleged incident happened around closing time Saturday night at the Exodos Lounge, a popular club in Greektown.
Alisia Francavilla said she was out with her girlfriends celebrating her birthday.
As the night came to an end, Francavilla said her and friend Kayli Pitylak, the group's designated driver, wanted to use the bathroom before heading home.
"As we were at the bathroom door, the lady was saying that we could use the bathroom," Francavilla tells WDIV. "Then the bathroom attendant said we couldn't, and men said that we couldn't, so they started pulling me." The women were then led down the stairs to the exit.
"The owner had Alecia in front of me, and he tries to throw her down the stairs," Pitylak said. "So I grab her before she can fall as a huge bouncer -- big huge guy -- comes behind us and starts pushing us down."
Francavilla alleges the owner: "Looked at my face, he spit in my face and then he bit my hand. As I was going down the stairwell he started signing happy birthday. He even told me and my friend that he's the owner. He looked at us in the eyes and told us that he is the owner."
Francavilla filed a police report and has retained an attorney, reports WDIV's Steve Garagiola.
Exodos owner Yanni Dionisopoulos issued a statement:
This past Saturday night, as our staff was closing and moving guests towards the exit, a group of individuals attempted to re-enter the premise. Our security team made efforts to prevent this, as it was after 2:30 a.m., which resulted in a brief verbal exchange between the guests and our staff.
We are disappointed that an otherwise festive evening was tarnished by this late-night exchange, and apologize to our guests for their experience, which does not represent the values and policies of our family-owned business. We have investigated this event thoroughly and taken immediate action with staff to ensure our guests have the best and safest experience possible, every time they visit.
We hope to move forward from this incident swiftly, so we can continue to be a place of enjoyment for locals and visitors to Detroit, as we have for the past 15 years. Thank you to the community and our guests for their continued support.
