{"id":216920,"date":"2025-09-11T01:11:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T01:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/216920\/"},"modified":"2025-09-11T01:11:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T01:11:11","slug":"rodeo-dallas-owner-says-bar-is-being-scapegoated-as-source-of-deep-ellum-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/216920\/","title":{"rendered":"Rodeo Dallas owner says bar is being scapegoated as source of Deep Ellum crime"},"content":{"rendered":"

An owner of Rodeo Dallas, a Deep Ellum bar that a judge ordered last week to be shut down indefinitely <\/a>over public safety concerns, posted a video Wednesday stating the business is being unfairly blamed for crime in the area.<\/p>\n

In the four-minute video posted Wednesday to the bar\u2019s Instagram page<\/a>, Joseph \u201cJD\u201d Ybanez calls the lawsuit that led to the closure a targeted effort by a nearby property owner to gentrify the neighborhood by driving out Black and Latino customers and boosting property values. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve created this narrative that we are the cause of the crime when the streets are the issue,\u201d Ybanez said. \u201cEverything they cite happens outside our building. It happens on the sidewalk, it happens in the streets, it happens in the parking lot. These commercial firms just want to get rid of the crowd that goes to Deep Ellum.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodeo Dallas has been shut down via court order since Aug. 8 after Asana Partners filed a lawsuit against its parent company, Rodeo Ranch Texas. The bar\u2019s landlord had chained the doors shut earlier in the week, but the bar owners were able to get a court order allowing people back in. <\/p>\n

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Ybanez said in meetings he\u2019s had with representatives from the city and Asana Partners, a North Carolina real estate firm suing the bar, they\u2019ve questioned if the business will play Hip Hop or create a dress code, which Ybanez dismissed as discriminatory. The firm owns dozens of Deep Ellum properties, including Revolver Taco, Ruins and Twilite Lounge. <\/p>\n

\u201cHope we see you at Rodeo Dallas very soon,\u201d Ybanez said.<\/p>\n

Representatives for Asana Partners and Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Moreno, who represents the area, didn\u2019t immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

Judge Veretta Frazier issued a temporary restraining order closing the bar on Aug. 8 and later extended it indefinitely Friday, citing the lack of an agreed-upon security plan. Frazier ruled that the bar\u2019s continued operation posed an \u201cimminent and irreparable harm\u201d to Asana Partners, leaving closure as the only remedy.<\/p>\n

During an Aug. 14 hearing<\/a>, Rodeo\u2019s lawyers also argued the bar was unfairly blamed for broader public safety issues, while police, neighboring businesses, and property owners testified that Rodeo created an unsafe environment that contributed to shootings and crowds of around 500 people flooding the streets when the bar closes at 2 a.m.<\/p>\n

One officer testified that while responding to a fight between an employee and two customers inside the bar in April 2024 that 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 Dallas police Sr. Cpl. Hannah Moore testified in August.<\/p>\n

Asana Partners\u2019 attorneys claimed Rodeo only began addressing safety concerns in July, after the city threatened legal action, months after a fatal shooting outside the bar in March<\/a>. Rodeo\u2019s legal team countered that they have since dedicated significant resources to improving security.<\/p>\n

A modified temporary injunction order filed Tuesday says a trial is currently scheduled for April 20, 2026. <\/p>\n

Dallas County court records show Asana Partners posted a $2 million bond to support the temporary restraining order against Rodeo Dallas.<\/p>\n