A problem bar was closed and the Buffalo Common Council refused to allow underage customers for a Chippewa Street bar Halloween party. It's the latest in events surrounding the entertainment district.
Wednesday, developer Uniland evicted the Big Bad Wolf bar on Delaware Avenue at Chippewa.
Buffalo Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda said there have been repeated problems at the bar. Two murders have taken place near the bar's rear parking lot.
The Common Council has refused to allow 18-to-21-year-old customers in bars. The bar is part of a a long-running fight over what's called co-mingling, allowing that age group into bars on the premise they won't drink.
There was a six-month experiment allowing those teens in some bars on Thursday nights, but that has expired.
Ellicott District Common Council member Darius Pridgen said there are ongoing crackdowns on the Chippewa Strip because of past violence.
Pridgen said what happened to Big Bad Wolf is a warning to other troubled bars in rented space. He said Police asked Council members to reject the permit request for a co-mingling event for the Noir Ultra Lounge Halloween party.
"It was turned down because the Police Commissioner said that there had been problems before on Halloween, especially with co-mingling," Pridgen said.
Pridgen says he has met with bars which want to allow underage customers and is looking at the data on past problems before going forward.
