Deep Ellum Landlords Throw Down Over Rowdy Venue

Frustration over criminal activity and quality of life issues in Deep Ellum has been boiling over, and one nightlife hotspot seems to be getting all the heat.

Rodeo Dallas, a nightclub at Elm and N Crowdus, has earned the ire of city officials and neighborhood stakeholders for purportedly fostering “dangerous and unlawful conduct.” In the last year, rampant public intoxication, disorderly conduct, and even a fatal shooting have been tied to the venue, prompting its landlord to lock the doors over alleged lease violations on Tuesday.

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Westdale Real Estate Investment & Management, which owns the property the night club operates out of, moved to shut down Rodeo Dallas after the city hit the embattled venue with a target letter citing more than a dozen criminal incidents and multiple code violations. However, Rodeo Dallas managed to reopen the next day after securing a writ of reentry from a justice of the peace, according to NBC 5 DFW.

Things took another turn on Friday, though, when a neighboring landlord  — Asana Partners — filed a restraining order against Rodeo Dallas, accusing the nightclub of creating conditions that allow for “unfettered violence, drug use, displays of firearms, underage drinking, excessively loud music, massive uncontrollable crowds, and murder,” according to a court filing, WFAA reported.

“Deep Ellum as a whole is flourishing, but the ongoing operation of Rodeo Dallas must be immediately retrained to prevent further irreparable harm to [the plaintiff] and the entire Deep Ellum community,” Asana Partners said in its petition for the restraining order.

Apparently, things have gotten so bad that landlords and other stakeholders in the neighborhood have been calling for a broad temporary shutdown of nightlife in the area until authorities can get things under control, according to KERA News.

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Joseph Ybanez, co-owner of Rodeo Dallas, has claimed that his venue is being scapegoated.

“Trying to attribute the dangers of an area and the criminality of an area to my bar is insane,” he told The Dallas Morning News prior to the first lockout. “Trying to pin it on an operation like mine is mind-blowing. The city is just looking for an easy way out, trying to find a scapegoat because they’re unable to control the streets of Deep Ellum.”

Rodeo Dallas will remain closed until August 15, when the matter will be heard before a judge again. Asana Partners has posted a $250,000 bond in the event that the venue prevails in court, in which case the former might be held responsible for lost revenues.