Rodeo Dallas bar fights to reopen amid legal battle

Rodeo Dallas fights to reopen after shutdown amid allegations of causing violence in Deep Ellum.

DALLAS — The fate of a popular but controversial Deep Ellum bar remains up in the air Thursday afternoon as an evidentiary hearing is underway.

At the hearing, which was moved up from Friday, Rodeo Dallas and its representatives, Rodeo Ranch Texas LLC, will state their case to reopen the bar after it was shut down Aug. 8. The closure followed a temporary restraining order filed by Asana Partners, a real estate investment firm that owns several properties in Deep Ellum, including some near the bar.

Initially, on Aug. 5, Rodeo Dallas’ landlord, Westdale Real Estate Investment and Management, chained the bar’s doors shut, leaving behind a sign citing “lease violations” for the closure. One day later, the bar reopened after the Crawford, Wishnew, and Lang law firm was hired to represent it. However, the temporary restraining order came down another two days after this reopening, after Asana Partners agreed to pay a $250,000 bond.

In the restraining order against Rodeo Ranch Texas LLC, Asana Partners accused the bar of being “the epicenter of the spike in violence in Deep Ellum.” The real estate investment firm was seeking a temporary injunction Thursday, which could force the bar to remain shut for weeks, possibly months, while court proceedings continue. 

“At the end of the day, this is about safety,” Ben Riemer, who is representing Asana Partners, said during opening statements Thursday. “We’re at the end of the road. We cannot allow this establishment to be open for one more night.” 

Managing Director of Asset Management for Asana Partners, Chris Dalton, argued at the hearing that he has seen the Deep Ellum community shift over the years, saying that it has gotten out of control and emphasizing the issues it presents for police. 

Dalton also attempted to connect the bar to a January murder, though during cross-examination, he said he had no personal knowledge of any connection the bar may have had. However, he was adamant that if Rodeo Dallas were to shut down, officers who typically patrol around the bar would be able to cover different areas of Deep Ellum. 

While questioning a detective with the Dallas Police Department, Riemer asked him what he had observed since the bar opened.

“It became a place that we had to babysit,” Detective Adres Sanchez said. “Rodeo attracted fights, PIs, arrests.” 

Sanchez went on to say that if officers weren’t actively present in the area of the bar for five minutes, something would always happen, concluding that it was absorbing safety resources. 

Another officer with Dallas police, Sr. Cpl. Hannah Moore, who has been with the department for seven years and employed with the Deep Ellum Task Force for over a year, testified she was assigned to the area due to crime. Officer Moore said she works Wednesday through Saturday and spends her entire shift patrolling Deep Ellum. 

“I spend 80 to 90 percent of my shifts standing across the street from Rodeo,” Moore said.

Moore said she’s been assaulted, herself, twice: once in April 2024 and again right before this summer. 

“We went inside and a female assaulted me and another officer. Since that incident we’ve made it known we will no longer go inside Rodeo to dispute a fight happening inside,” Moore said of the 2024 incident.

When referencing the incident this year, Moore said “a group of females was kicked out and a fight ensued. While officiating an arrest, one of the individuals punched me in the face and cut my chin open and I had to go to the hospital.”

“Instead of separating the parties, security shoves them onto the street. It escalates and the fight continues,” Moore added.

Moore also said she’s stopped people before who had entered and left Rodeo Dallas with weapons. Moore said she has personally cited six minors inside Rodeo Dallas, including once where she ticketed minors within 45 seconds of entering the bar. 

Moore testified that the door staff “weren’t keeping count of the occupancy of the business” and said she’s seen people enter the bar without being patted down or searched.

“I have made multiple arrests where searches after the arrest resulted in finding narcotics that would have been found if security at Rodeo was performing them,” Moore said.

WFAA is in the courtroom for this hearing. This article will continue to be updated with the latest information.