.Oakland Bar Owners Reach Agreement with City Attorney on Violence

The owners of Egbert Souse’s, an Oakland bar located on the corner of Piedmont Avenue and West MacArthur Boulevard, have reached an agreement with City Attorney Barbara Parker and OPD in regards to complaints about violence, noise, and alleged drug activity that surfaced last fall. There were three separate shootings outside of Egbert Souse’s in 2013 that involved patrons of the bar, two of which occurred on consecutive weekends in October and November.

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Barbara Parker

  • Barbara Parker

According to the City Attorney’s Office, owners of Egbert Souse’s have agreed to “hire licensed and uniformed security guards, prevent loitering outside the business, and close no later than midnight every day of the week.” The agreement also requires the owners to remove graffiti promptly, ensure that music is not audible outside the bar, and to permanently ban anyone caught using drugs, fighting, or possessing a weapon. In an interview with the Piedmont Patch last year, an owner of Egbert Souse’s said that customers who are under the age of 25 are not allowed inside the bar on weekends.

In a press release, Parker said, “Last year, Oakland spent a disproportionate amount of police resources investigating and responding to crime associated with this business. Neighbors, police, my office and the owners all recognized that violence and other problems at this bar constituted a public nuisance and had to stop.”

The agreement became effective late January. If the bar violates any of the conditions of the agreement, it’s “Deemed Approval” status could be revoked, which currently allows it to operate and sell alcohol.

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