“We’ve gone above and beyond what we’ve done with other problem establishments.” “I think we’ve been more than fair with you,” Jerram said.
Taza nightclub omaha license#
But he said he couldn’t vote to recommend a liquor license for a bar that hadn’t paid its taxes.Ĭouncilman Chris Jerram, who represents the downtown area that includes the bar, said Hill had been given enough chances. He said black adult Omahans need more fun places to go. Several people spoke for Hill, saying his vision for the bar would be well-received.Ĭouncil President Ben Gray, who represents north Omaha, said he was conflicted. Hill disputed the amount of the tobacco tax bill but said he would work with the city to pay those taxes. The establishment also owes $1,500 as part of a payment plan for previous unpaid taxes. The city’s Finance Department estimated that the bar owes $8,000 in tobacco taxes and $9,000 in restaurant taxes. Those money problems, he said, are part of the reason that the bar owes the city thousands of dollars in back taxes, including the city restaurant tax. “I don’t enjoy it it’s making less money and more problems.” “The nightclub isn’t working,” Hill said. He said he has concluded that he should take the bar back to its original concept, a hookah lounge with a focus on music and the arts. Hill said he has made several attempts to beef up security. Security officer Shelby Pickens told council members that a patron left the bar and began fighting with other people who had been outside the bar. The most recent incident connected with the bar happened Saturday. She added, however, that Hill is “pro-police” and said the bar owner has been working with the department. Katherine Belcastro-Gonzalez spoke against the liquor license, saying problems have continued. 25, when an Omaha police helicopter, two mounted officers and 13 other officers went to the bar to quell a large fight that had spilled out into the street. The final decision rests with the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission.Ĭity officials have said they’ve had several problems, including an incident on Oct. Hill told council members that he believes a return to the bar’s hookah lounge roots would discourage gang members and other rowdy patrons from going to the establishment. He said the change ended up bringing rowdier patrons and less income.Įarlier this year, the City of Omaha asked that the bar be required to reapply for its liquor license, a first step to potentially taking away the license.
Hill said the show’s experts suggested he turn his lounge into a nightclub, but the plan did not work out. The show features a bar expert who tries to turn around failing lounges by changing their atmosphere and management. Hill told council members that the bar’s troubles began in 2013 after it appeared on the show “Bar Rescue.”
The owner of a downtown nightclub wants to remove problems by bringing the bar back to its roots as a hookah lounge, but Omaha City Council members aren’t sure whether he should get the chance.įor the second time in a year, owner Jesse Hill appeared before the council Tuesday to make his case for Taza Hookah Lounge, 1507 Farnam St.Ĭouncil members, who were unhappy about continued incidents at the bar and the fact that Hill owes back taxes to the city, took votes on two separate motions to both recommend denial and approval of the bar’s liquor license.īut both motions failed, and, in the end, the council made no recommendation to the state liquor commission about whether the bar should keep its liquor license. By Roseann Moring / World-Herald staff writer
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