ELMNT Lounge, 618 N. Water St., is closed after the Milwaukee Common Council voted Nov. 4 to revoke its license.
The Common Council’s Licenses Committee recommended the revocation after a handful of police incidents happened outside the club over the past few years, including three fatal shootings.
ELMNT’s representation, attorney Michael Maistelman, said holding establishments responsible for criminal actions that take place outside their walls sets a dangerous precedent. He also pointed out that current owner Rajvir Bains only took over ownership in June, and said it’s unfair to punish him based on what happened under past owners. He contended that the punishment was harsh, considering how the Common Council has handled incidents at ELMNT in the past.
“This club has been in existence for over 20 years, the city has (only) suspended their licenses in the past,” Maistelman said.
Two alderman — Mark Chambers and Alex Brower — agreed with Maistelman that ELMNT shouldn’t lose its license over violence that happened outside the club, and voted against revocation.
“I think we’re getting too willy nilly with trying to shut down,” Chambers said. “Places are going to have issues … do I think they need to be punished? Yes, because they started off on a bad foot. But subsequently closing them down? I’m just not with it.”
Gun violence leads to revocation
While Maistelman argued ELMNT shouldn’t be held responsible for things that happened outside the club, the bar has nevertheless taken steps to try to help quell the violence. He said Bains had always planned to turn the spot into a sports bar and has already taken steps to do so, but contracts the business was locked into before he was the owner prevented him from doing that right away.
Maistelman said Bains did file an amended public entertainment license application the last week in October that didn’t include having DJs, dancing and promoter events, which both Bains and his attorney think tend to attract troublemakers. ELMNT has also added metal detectors and plans to add more security cameras as extra security measures.
The Common Council didn’t think those changes were enough to ensure patron safety, however, and agreed with the Licenses Committee’s Oct. 21 recommendation for revocation.
The committee made that recommendation based on members’ belief that ELMNT’s business plan wasn’t sufficient for ensuring the downtown neighborhood’s safety, particularly from gun violence.
Two of those incidents happened this summer, including a drive-by shooting in July that left two people dead and three others injured. Earlier in the year, there was a shooting in a parking structure across the street that involved patrons who had just left the club. In 2021, another fatal shooting happened outside the bar. The bar received a 60-day suspension of its liquor license after that shooting.
Alderman Robert Bauman said for the 20 years the club at 618 N. Water St. has had a liquor license, it has been disciplined 13 of those years, mostly because of shootings.
“This revocation action was taken by the Milwaukee Police Department based on their records and based on their knowledge, and I support it,” Bauman said during the Nov. 4 Common Council meeting.
The license revocation means ELMNT cannot open, unless a court intervenes. Maistelman hopes one will and plans to file for a temporary injunction to keep it open while he files a lawsuit to get the revocation decision overturned.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.jsonline.com ’
