EUCLID, Ohio — The Boozerz Sports Bar and Grille is on the verge of shutting down because the Euclid City Council recently voted to object to a liquor license renewal for the business.
In a resolution, city council cites 18 instances where Euclid Police have been called in reference to Boozerz.
The instances range from fights and a shooting to the bar being open past 2 a.m.
The most recent incident listed in the Resolution was a motorcycle crash in March this year. The driver died, and he was allegedly at Boozerz prior to the accident.
“I used to live in North Olmstead for five years and the Giant Eagle out there, they had two different shootings. Two different people got their brains blown out. But are we going to shut down Giant Eagle? Absolutely not. We're going to clean up the crime scene, and we're going to start selling eggs, milk, and juice to the community. I'm saying that to say they couldn't help what happened at that grocery store,” Boozerz Sports Bar and Grille Manager Keisha Connors said.
“It happens everywhere. I don't care what community you’re in, where you live at. Bad things happen everywhere. So, it's no stereotyping about it,” Connors added.
Connors has been managing Boozerz for the last six months.
She blames prior management for each of those incidents city council referenced.
“I'm not upset with the City of Euclid for feeling the way they do because of the past issues they may have had with the bar, but I will say over the last six months, [there] hasn’t been any issues or police called to the bar,” Connors added.
Boozerz currently operates with a Class D-5 liquor permit, authorizing the sale of beer, wine, mixed beverages and spirituous liquor for on-premises consumption, and the sale of beer, wine, and mixed beverages in original, sealed containers for off-premises consumption.
However, the city is looking at that time span of issues as a reason to shut the bar down after Oct. 1.
City of Euclid Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer-Gail told News 5, “There have been persistent problems at Boozerz over the past year that impacts the safety of our community. [Boozerz] used a large amount of city resources in addressing these issues (i.e., police, fire, planning and development, etc.) and impacted neighboring businesses in having to tow vehicles and clean up trash from patrons of Boozerz. The City cannot support the renewal of a liquor permit for an operator who has shown disregard for the laws and safety of our community.”
The city’s objection will now go before the Ohio Division of Liquor Control.
The deadline to file a legislative objection to the October renewal of a permit is September 3, 2024.
As of Thursday, the Division had not yet received the legislative objection to the renewal of Boozerz’s liquor permit, so a hearing has not been scheduled.
A hearing will not be scheduled until the Division receives Euclid’s legislative objection.
“It impacts me, but it also impacts all of the bartenders, all of the cooks. It impacts everybody as a whole because they come to work every day and they depend on the money that they make,” Connors explained. “If y'all [are] willing to give us a chance, we will show y'all that we will turn this whole situation around for the good.”
If Boozerz is stripped of its liquor license, Connors said there’s a chance the owner of the bar, Sharita Roberts, may sell the building.
“She might open up a catering [business] or a soul food restaurant. I don't know. [There are] a lot of different things you can do when you own a building. But if her heart and her passion was to open up a bar, I don't know how she would really feel about that,” Connors stated.
Connors said Boozerz will continue to promote its business in the community with the hope that everything will work out.
