We are on the downward slide of summer; I figure the 4th of July as being the pinnacle and as the pendulum moves it begins its downward slide. We just emerged from an inferno of blistering heat, but it seems to have subside for now. This winter we will remember it fondly.
The city is very quiet, with of course the exception of the North End. That seems to be the center of interest right now; the most recent being a stabbing at North Side Liquors. I am sure there is undercover work underway to settle those issues; our police department never sleeps.
Now the paper (globe) tells us the city is thinking of denying the renewal of Ally Katz liquor license. Do it. I vote to shut the place down. I ran three establishments in this city where liquor was served and I can speak with some knowledge on that matter. You harvest what you plant. The bars I ran never had problems with a clientele that caused trouble. Why was that? Because we set the demeanor of the space; one way was to raise the prices; people who are hard core drinkers want the most bang for the buck…often just five-cents more will be all that is needed, twenty-five cents more and they won’t even drive past let along come in.
It isn’t the fault of the furniture or the booze, it falls directly on the owner operator who either want to cater to a disruptive crowd or not. This woman who runs this place should have known where she was before she sold her first drink. She’s in the North End not Disneyland, what the hell was she thinking? Now she wants some sort of “special consideration” by the council saying she was discriminated against….I don’t think so.
If you own the bar and you do not want certain people to come in, you can legally keep them out. Bad judgement is not grounds for a free pass.
That place has been a catalyst for hoodlums and up to now she allowed it. For decades bar owners have hire “bouncers” to enforce their rules. I can name server bars in this city who employed this practice and it worked; trouble makers go to where there is the least resistance to their bullying, if they feel there is someone there who can and will challenge ledge them, they will either alter their behavior or go elsewhere. Maybe a 90 day suspension to cool off and regroup might be a good solution.
Peter Children
Bouncers in a situation as they have up there make the most sense. Keep out those who have been problem children in the past, and remove the fresh fish who are bent on trouble.
Forty years ago, we actually had a bouncer keep us from getting into trouble at a late night bar on Western Ave. It was called Pier 69, which to us meant nothing, we wanted a beer after work. The bouncer however would not let us in, for our own safety. You see, what we did not notice was the fenced in lot next door full of motorcycles. Meaning the clientele was all bikers. Add to it, they were of a certain persuasion to which, neither of us wanted to be a part of.
Once this was explained, we hoped back in the Chevy and went home. That beer was not so important after all.
We had hoped for a beer, but we hopped into the Chevy. Must be the heat!
was there tonight, the owner of the bar was like she had no idea what was going on, almost insulting to PD like they were harassing her for no reason.
Tornquist and KUhn explained it very well and what they expect out of her. Not very oftern i can say i agree with peter, tornquist and kuhn all on the same issue.
Peter…were you a bar owner during the days of Prohibition?? I think its weird someone as old as you writes about bars and bedding women. YUCK!!
Close it! They won’t go to another places cuz they’ll have to find rides and most other places won’t put up with their crap.
Good article Peter and so true. Once again I must agree with you. The only issue is that right now the police know where to look. If they scatter they will have it all to do again. Alley Katz or Happy Hearts-she knew exactly what she was doing.
Ha! I remember a group of unruly North Iowa bankers nearly being ejected from the Library in about 1976 for doing our time honored tradition of throwing dinner rolls at each other. Unfortunately, one of the waitresses got caught in the crossfire and she tattled. That brought you downstairs with a threat to toss us all out on our butts. And we weren’t even drunk yet! LOL. Gosh. We didn’t even have guns or knives. Well, just table knives. What a great memory. That group used to have a lot of fun.
“You harvest what you plant. The bars I ran never had problems with a clientele that caused trouble. Why was that? Because we set the demeanor of the space;”
Then it must be safe to say your establishments were frequented by adulterers since you have claimed on different occasions to have bedded so many women whom were married.
I rarely agree with 100% of any one article you write Peter but I do with this one. RUN YOUR BUSINESS or it will run you. A DAYCARE couldn’t be run with the kind of attitude she has so it makes me wonder what the hell she is thinking.
That’s because you’re Jesus, right Peter?
Maybe noon isn’t not a good time to start drinking Johnny?
Lots of thugs hanging around the convenience stores on north Federal as well.
To paraphrase–They’re in the North End not Disneyland, what the hell were they thinking?
Agreed Peter. Nice article. I don’t frequent the bars anymore, just once in awhile when I meet up with some friends maybe 3 to 4 times a year. And that is usually at BWW, or the recently closed OP. My only concern with closing this establishment is that the hoodlums with infest other places. But, perhaps you are right? Raise the prices. I believe Eleven has done this, but heard rumors that there has been trouble there also.