{"id":167491,"date":"2025-08-22T21:41:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T21:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/167491\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T21:41:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T21:41:09","slug":"lawyers-for-rodeo-dallas-nearby-property-owner-seek-to-close-bar-for-another-2-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/167491\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawyers for Rodeo Dallas, nearby property owner seek to close bar for another 2 weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Attorneys representing Deep Ellum bar Rodeo Dallas and the property owner who sued the business and successfully petitioned to get it temporarily shut down<\/a> are both asking a judge to extend the closure for up to another two weeks.<\/p>\n

In separate proposals filed Friday, Dave Wishnew, representing the owners of Rodeo Dallas, and Ben Riemer, representing Asana Partners, one of the largest property owners in Deep Ellum, cite \u201cgood cause\u201d to extend a temporary restraining order to Sept. 5. Both documents say the restraining order blocking the bar from opening was due to expire on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe court in its discretion determines that there is good cause to extend the Temporary Restraining Order by an additional two weeks so that the parties may continue efforts to implement security measures at Rodeo Dallas,\u201d Riemer\u2019s proposal said. Wishnew\u2019s proposal doesn\u2019t cite a reason, but mentions a status conference hearing held Thursday laying out why the closure should continue. <\/p>\n

Dallas County District Court Judge Veretta Frazier hadn\u2019t signed either proposal as of 4 p.m. Friday, according to online court records. A representative from her office didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment on when an order would be issued. Wishnew declined comment, and Riemer didn\u2019t immediately respond Friday to requests for comment. <\/p>\n

Crime in The News<\/p>\n

Read the crime and public safety news your neighbors are talking about.<\/p>\n

Frazier granted Asana Partners\u2019 request for a temporary restraining order to keep the bar\u2019s doors closed on Aug. 8 amid ongoing public safety concerns. Both sides argued in court Aug. 14<\/a> for and against keeping the order in place, but Frazier has yet to issue any ruling \u2014 meaning Rodeo Dallas remains closed. The two-year-old bar is on the corner of Elm and Crowdus streets and known for its mechanical bull. It attracts crowds of hundreds nightly. Asana Partners is a North Carolina-based real estate firm and owns 30 properties and six parking lots in Deep Ellum, including several near Rodeo Dallas.<\/p>\n

During the Aug. 14 temporary injunction hearing, Dallas police officers, neighboring business owners, and property owners testified that Rodeo Dallas has created unsafe conditions for both its customers and the surrounding neighborhood. Asana Partners\u2019 attorneys argued that the bar regularly over-serves alcohol, allows underage patrons, fails to check for weapons, exceeds noise limits, and doesn\u2019t properly manage its more than 500 customers that spill into the streets after closing at 2 a.m. <\/p>\n

They also noted that the bar\u2019s owners only began making changes after the city issued an official warning in July, despite previous incidents, including a fatal shooting outside the bar in March.<\/p>\n

Rodeo Dallas\u2019s lawyers argued that the bar is being unfairly blamed for broader public safety issues in Deep Ellum, which they say the city should address. <\/p>\n

They said the bar is working to meet the city\u2019s Aug. 25 deadline for improvements and that shutting it down now would be premature, especially since the city itself isn\u2019t pushing for closure. They also argued there\u2019s no proof that closing Rodeo Dallas would reduce crime, as the problems are spread across the entire district. <\/p>\n

Joseph Ybanez, one of the owners of Rodeo Dallas, testified that the bar is working with the city to improve security, including enhanced training for staff and adding metal detectors. He warned that a prolonged closure of the two-year-old bar could force it to shut down for good and cost its 30-40 employees their jobs. He said the court-ordered closure cost them nearly $200,000 during the first weekend it was closed and the bar made $8 million in sales last year. <\/p>\n

This ruling is the latest development in Deep Ellum, Dallas\u2019s main entertainment district, where business owners, workers, and residents have been urging city officials to address ongoing issues like fights, shootings, public drinking, and businesses violating city rules. Dallas officials announced earlier Friday<\/a> that they\u2019ve added more police officers on weekends and increased nighttime staff to monitor bars and clubs \u2014 especially those known for over-serving alcohol.<\/p>\n

Rodeo Dallas\u2019 landlord locked everyone out on Aug. 5, but the bar owners got a court order to reopen the next day. A hearing in that case was scheduled to occur Friday, but court staff said it had been postponed. <\/p>\n

In late July, the city warned Rodeo Dallas to correct multiple code violations by Aug. 25 or city attorneys would seek a court-ordered shutdown. The city linked 16 crimes \u2014 including disorderly conduct, public intoxication, assault and murder \u2014 to the bar over the past year. Despite repeated warnings, the city said the owners failed to make meaningful improvements.<\/p>\n

A July inspection found Rodeo Dallas was operating as a bar and nightclub, not the restaurant its permit allows, according to the city. The bar hosts events and profits from alcohol, food, and entry fees, but it hasn\u2019t registered as a commercial promoter or filed required safety plans. Inspectors also found maintenance issues, pest problems, and piles of trash.<\/p>\n

The city is demanding that Rodeo Dallas make food service just as important as alcohol service \u2014 hiring kitchen staff, tracking food and alcohol sales, and promoting dining more than drinking \u2014 while also getting all the proper city permits. The bar has to keep noise under control, hire armed security to manage crowds and keep detailed incident logs, and install high-quality surveillance cameras in and outside the bar and store footage for at least 30 days.<\/p>\n

A crowd management plan is required, including metal detectors at entrances, stricter entry rules with no new customers being let in after 1:15 a.m., and better lighting for safety. Also, all employees have to be trained in conflict resolution, responsible alcohol service, and emergency response, and the venue has to fix any building or cleanliness problems.<\/p>\n

The city set the Aug. 25 deadline to have most of the improvements done and said an inspection would follow on that Friday. The enhanced staff training and code violations have to be improved by Sept. 25, and an inspection is set for Sept. 26. According to the city, if the bar doesn\u2019t comply, it could lead to fines, a nuisance designation, or legal action to shut the business down. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Attorneys representing Deep Ellum bar Rodeo Dallas and the property owner who sued the business and successfully petitioned…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":167492,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,4219,1596,14841,24726,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-167491","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-crime","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-dallas-city-hall","12":"tag-deep-ellum","13":"tag-texas","14":"tag-tx","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115074595971040350","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167491","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=167491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}