{"id":151339,"date":"2025-08-16T20:14:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T20:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/151339\/"},"modified":"2025-08-16T20:14:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T20:14:16","slug":"should-rodeo-dallas-continue-to-operate-decision-sits-with-judge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/151339\/","title":{"rendered":"Should Rodeo Dallas continue to operate? Decision sits with judge"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not immediately clear Saturday if a Dallas judge will allow a popular Deep Ellum bar forced to close for a week amid public safety concerns<\/a> to reopen or remain shut.<\/p>\n

Dallas County District Court Judge Veretta Frazier is deciding whether to continue a temporary injunction that blocks Rodeo Dallas from reopening its doors or lift the injunction requested by a nearby property owner suing the bar, arguing Rodeo Dallas is too much of a safety risk to customers and the Deep Ellum community to remain open. <\/p>\n

Frazier presided over a roughly seven-hour court hearing Thursday. All parties expected a ruling Friday, but midnight came and went.<\/p>\n

Online court records show no updated order has been filed as of 9:15 a.m. Saturday.<\/p>\n

Political Points<\/p>\n

Get the latest politics news from North Texas and beyond.<\/p>\n

Related:Wilonsky: Rodeo Dallas, City Hall tussle over Deep Ellum\u2019s latest rise in violence<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI was in Deep Ellum on Friday for about two hours having coffee and multiple people approached me asking what\u2019s going on,\u201d Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Moreno, who represents the area, told The Dallas Morning News on Saturday morning. \u201cAll I could tell them is \u2018I\u2019m in the same boat with you, waiting for a decision to be made.\u2019 I still am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dave Wishnew, lead attorney representing Rodeo Dallas, and Ben Riemer, lead attorney representing Asana Partners, the North Carolina-based real estate investment firm that owns 30 properties and six parking lots in Deep Ellum that is suing the bar, didn\u2019t immediately respond Saturday to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

Rodeo Dallas co-owner Joseph Ybanez declined comment when reached by a reporter Saturday, deferring to Wishnew for comment. <\/p>\n

Riemer sent Frazier a letter Friday suggesting two alternatives if the judge decided not to continue the temporary injunction. One option would be to allow Rodeo Dallas to reopen, but order the business to close at 11 p.m. rather than 2 a.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no reason that defendant must stay open until 2:00 a.m.,\u201d Reimer wrote. \u201cWe believe that the majority of safety incidents occur after 11:00 p.m., so this may result in significant progress in keeping (the) community safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other proposal extends the temporary injunction until Friday, Aug. 22, to \u201cgive the parties and the court the opportunity to continue to engage in these discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n

No response to the letter had been filed as of Saturday morning, according to online court records.<\/p>\n

During Thursday\u2019s hearing, city police officers, adjacent business owners, and property owners testified that Rodeo Dallas created an unsafe environment for both its customers and the surrounding neighborhood. The two-year-old bar on the corner of Elm and Crowdus streets, known for its mechanical bull and crowds of hundreds it attracts nightly. <\/p>\n

One police officer testified the atmosphere at Rodeo Dallas was so dangerous that cops would not enter unless they had to do so.<\/p>\n

At the end of Thursday\u2019s hearing, around 9 p.m., the judge said she needed more time to review the testimony from both sides. <\/p>\n

She acknowledged that Ybanez testified the bar was working with the city to improve security\u2014including enhanced staff training and installing metal detectors\u2014and he warned that a prolonged closure could force the bar to shut down permanently, putting its 30-40 employees at risk. <\/p>\n

He said the bar reported $8 million in sales last year. But Frazier pointed out that the bar\u2019s impact on the neighborhood seemed serious and that no employees had testified about actually participating in the new security training Ybanez claimed was recently implemented.<\/p>\n

At least three dozen Deep Ellum residents, workers, business owners, and property owners packed Dallas\u2019s 44th District Court for the Rodeo Dallas hearing. Others waited outside because there wasn\u2019t enough space inside.<\/p>\n

The hearing marks the latest turn in Deep Ellum, the city\u2019s premier entertainment district, where area business owners, workers and residents in recent weeks have demanded Dallas officials do more to crack down on fights, shootings, people openly carrying containers of alcohol and businesses operating outside of city rules<\/a>.<\/p>\n

City officials last issued notice of city code violations to Rodeo Dallas owners on July 30, demanding a series of improvements that need to happen by Aug. 25 or city attorneys would seek a court order to shut down the business. <\/p>\n

The city noted 16 alleged crimes tied to the bar between May 2024 and May 2025, from disorderly conduct and public intoxication to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and murder.<\/p>\n

A July 11 inspection revealed Rodeo Dallas was operating as a bar and nightclub, not the restaurant its permit allows. The bar hosts events and profits from alcohol, food and admission, but it hasn\u2019t registered as a commercial promoter or submitted required safety plans. Inspectors also found maintenance problems\u2014damaged walls, ceilings, plumbing, and electrical systems\u2014as well as pest issues and piles of trash.<\/p>\n

On Aug. 5, the bar\u2019s landlord, Westdale Real Estate Investment and Management, chained the doors. The owners got a court order the next day to reopen, but on Aug. 8, Asana Partners filed a lawsuit and requested a temporary restraining order, which was granted the same day, shutting down the bar until this week\u2019s hearing on a longer-term injunction.<\/p>\n

Attorneys representing Asana Partners argued Thursday that it was common for Rodeo Dallas patrons to be over-served alcohol, for people under 21 to get in, for security not to thoroughly check for guns, for music to exceed city noise limits, and for staff not doing enough to safely manage crowds of hundreds who spill into the streets when the bar closes at 2 a.m.<\/p>\n

Asana Partners\u2019 lawyers also argued that even after shootings near Rodeo Dallas\u2014including one in late March where 21-year-old Jonathan Santos was killed outside the bar<\/a>\u2014Rodeo Dallas\u2019s owners didn\u2019t take serious steps to improve until July, when the city officially ordered them to make changes or risk being sued.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe simply cannot take the risk of allowing this establishment be open for even one more night,\u201d said attorney Benjamin Riemer. \u201cBecause the irreparable harm that we\u2019re talking about in this case is injury and death.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodeo Dallas\u2019s lawyers argued that the bar is being unfairly blamed for Deep Ellum\u2019s public safety issues\u2014problems they say the city should be handling. They pointed out that the bar\u2019s owners are working with city officials to make the required improvements and should get the chance to meet the Aug. 25 deadline without being forced to close.<\/p>\n

They also argued that Asana Partners\u2019 request for a temporary shutdown was unjustified, since the city itself isn\u2019t pushing to close the bar. They added that there\u2019s no clear proof shutting down Rodeo Dallas would decrease crime in the area, and that the bar shouldn\u2019t be held responsible for what happens on the streets after hours. Crime in Deep Ellum isn\u2019t concentrated around Rodeo Dallas, they said, but is spread across the entire entertainment district.<\/p>\n

\u201cRodeo Dallas does not control the streets of Dallas or Deep Ellum,\u201d said Wishnew, the business\u2019s attorney told the judge on Thursday. \u201cIt does not have a duty to prevent crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearby business owners Regino Rojas, who operates Revolver Taco Lounge, and Dan Murry, who owns Armoury and Ruins, disagreed. Both described poor crowd control by Rodeo Dallas as directly contributing to issues in Deep Ellum.<\/p>\n

Rojas said he would be inviting \u201cmore problems than profits\u201d to keep Revolver Taco open past midnight despite crowds still being in the area because of the issues caused by Rodeo Dallas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the responsibility of the people from the barrio or the neighborhood to make sure everybody has a good time and everybody is safe,\u201d Rojas testified Thursday. His taqueria is on the same block as Rodeo Dallas. \u201cEverybody. Not just the cops. It\u2019s all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dallas police detective Andres Sanchez, who works to patrol the district while off-duty, and Sr. Cpl. Hannah Moore, who is assigned to help patrol Deep Ellum, said Rodeo Dallas is a significant drain on police resources in the area, requiring near constant monitoring to either try to deter crime or respond to incidents.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re not there for five minutes, something is going to happen within those five minutes,\u201d said Sanchez, who added later that he felt there was a noticeable difference with Rodeo Dallas closed last week, and cops were able to do more proactive enforcement of city rules and laws.<\/p>\n

Moore said she spent \u201c80% to 90%\u201d of her shifts standing across the street from Rodeo Dallas monitoring the bar. She described making multiple arrests of Rodeo Dallas customers who were searched and had weapons or drugs on them, personally being part of an inspection that found six underaged customers being served alcohol at the bar, being part of an inspection that found the club exceeded its more than 500 max occupancy limit, and having to break up fights at or outside the bar. <\/p>\n

Moore said she has seen Rodeo Dallas security kick people out of the bar only to instigate and escalate disputes that have turned into fights on the streets, requiring police response.<\/p>\n

Both cops said they\u2019ve had to go to a hospital after being injured while breaking up fights at Rodeo Dallas. Moore noted a fight between an employee and two customers in the bar in April 2024 when she was punched and kicked by one of the customers and said another officer with her was assaulted.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince that incident, we have made it known that we will no longer go into Rodeo unless we absolutely have to due to the amount of people and how dangerous it is for myself and the other officers on the (Deep Ellum) task force to go in there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ybanez, the Rodeo Dallas co-owner, said he has repeatedly welcomed suggestions for security improvements from the city and the Deep Ellum Foundation. The foundation is a nonprofit manages that the area\u2019s Public Improvement District, handles public and private funds to improve and support the downtown-area neighborhood, and hires off-duty officers to patrol the area.<\/p>\n

Ybanez said security regularly scans IDs to verify customers are of age before they get into the bar. He claimed underage patrons had gotten around their system because they were using high-quality fake IDs.<\/p>\n

He noted that, in addition to more staff training, they recently added bright overhead lighting outside the bar that kicks on automatically at 2 a.m. to discourage loitering when the business closes. He also mentioned they\u2019ve been using metal barricades instead of velvet ropes to better control lines outside the bar, and security started using metal detector wands to help find more weapons before people get inside the business.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has never been a single instance where I\u2019ve said no to something that can make us safer and better for the neighborhood,\u201d Ybanez said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s a fact, no one can deny that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He estimated losses of close to $200,000 because of the court-ordered closure last week. He said he personally wrote checks to hold over a couple of Rodeo Dallas security guards for the week, continued paying managers their salaries and has been trying to get bar staff placed at other businesses while the bar is closed.<\/p>\n

Bryan Austin, who owns Club Dada and Off the Record, the two businesses next to Rodeo Dallas, said he felt the closed bar was being unfairly targeted and wasn\u2019t getting enough credit for the steps they\u2019ve taken to address issues thus far.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe landlords and the city are putting a lot of the onus on Rodeo that I don\u2019t think belongs there,\u201d Austin said, adding later that he would be willing to partner with other business owners to help pay to increase the amount of off-duty police officers to patrol the district. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s not immediately clear Saturday if a Dallas judge will allow a popular Deep Ellum bar forced to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":151340,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1596,14840,14841,24726,80,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-151339","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-city-council","11":"tag-dallas-city-hall","12":"tag-deep-ellum","13":"tag-politics","14":"tag-texas","15":"tag-tx","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115040280318422873","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}