Richardson bar reopens, raises funds for stabbing victims

Good Vibes Bar and Grill reopened Friday with donation QR codes at the front door and employees selling T-shirts to help four stabbing victims recover after a violent attack that shook one of Richardson’s regular nightlife spots.

The bar, in the 2100 block of Buckingham Road, reopened just two days after a Wednesday night stabbing that left bartender Felicia, known to customers as “Fefe,” and three patrons wounded. Harold Stemper, Reuben Blackwell and Garrett Ledger were all described as regulars, and staff members moved quickly to turn the business into a place of recovery as well as return. Family members, employees and patrons were also organizing online fundraisers, with early benefit-concert plans taking shape.

NBC 5 said the attack happened during music bingo night and lasted about 45 seconds. Police identified the suspect as 28-year-old Stephen Kwembe, who had called a non-emergency line before the attack and warned that he was heading to the bar to hurt people. FOX 4 reported that he told dispatchers he was going to “kill as many people as I can.”

All four victims were hospitalized after the assault, and some were in the ICU as of Wednesday night following surgeries. NBC 5 later reported that Blackwell and Stemper remained sedated and still faced surgery, while Ledger had come out of the ICU. FOX 4 said the three male victims jumped in to help protect Felicia, a detail that has shaped the way the bar and its customers are responding now, with the fundraising framed as a way to stand by people who were trying to protect one of their own.

Richardson police later shot and killed Kwembe after he refused commands to drop the knife. The quick reopening has become a signal to patrons and nearby businesses that the bar is trying to restore normal routines while also acknowledging that the recovery for the injured will stretch well beyond the headlines. In a corridor where familiarity and repeat business matter, the effort to keep the bar open while funneling money to the victims may end up mattering as much as the reopening itself.