The Milwaukee Common Council suspended RWB Milwaukee’s tavern and entertainment licenses for 10 days after a vote at its Nov. 25 meeting.
The suspension was in response to 30 separate incidents of disorderly conduct and 14 instances of underage individuals being allowed to enter and buy alcohol from the bar at 1040 N. King Drive. The incidents were documented by Milwaukee Police Department over the past 13 years; six of those incidents prompted MPD to file an objection to RWB’s latest licenses renewal application, which came up before the Licenses Committee on Nov. 11.
The last incident of disorderly conduct cited in the police report presented at that meeting occurred on March 23 this year, when MPD broke up a fight among approximately 40 RWB patrons. During the Nov. 11 meeting, RWB owner Jake Dehne said the fight broke out as a result of people loitering on the closed street in front of the bar.
In order to avoid suspension in 2022, the Common Council required the bar to eliminate its all-you-can-drink specials, due to incidents of disorderly conduct.
District 2 Alderman Mark Chambers said in that meeting that he didn’t think Dehne had been proactive enough about stopping the entry of underage patrons.
“I see these six reports on here, but I would bet my year’s salary that you had way more incidents … that the officers quite simply didn’t want to write,” Chambers said.
During his testimony in front of the Common Council, Dehne said he’d implemented changes over the years at the Common Council’s suggestion, such as adjusting drink specials, modifying promotional practices, adding metal-detecting wands for security to use and purchasing a “top-of-the-line” ID scanner. But even that scanner failed to detect some fake IDs that RWB staff had identified as fake and confiscated, he said.
“Whenever an issue had (risen), I’ve responded proactively in good faith to meet the expectation of the council and the police,” Dehne said at the Nov. 25 meeting. “I do care deeply about the success, safety and integrity of downtown Milwaukee.”
Dehne said he’s going to work with the Milwaukee Police Department to review common practices with spotting the newer, less-distinguishable versions of fake IDs, look for a more efficient scanner, and develop a crowd-control plan for New Year’s Eve. During a phone interview with the Journal Sentinel, he said he thought a warning letter would have been sufficient enough penalty in this case.
“My staff of 50 is losing out on income for the holidays,” Dehne said. “A significant amount of income they were relying on to pay for bills, life and food (is lost).”
Originally, the Licenses Committee voted in favor of recommending the bar have its license suspended for 20 days. At the Nov. 25 meeting before the full council, Dehne said a 20-day suspension would create a severe loss of income for his staff during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. After his testimony, the council instead voted in favor of a 10-day suspension, which went into effect Nov. 25.
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