Earlier this month, North central nightspot Bentley's on Broadway announced it was closed for remodeling. Now, it looks like there's more to the story.
The City of San Antonio has ordered both Bentley’s locations — the bar on Broadway and a beer garden on Alamo Street — to shut their doors due to code violations and an unusually high volume of noise complaints, news site MySA reports. City officials delivered a cease-and-desist letter to the business after years of tension with a nearby neighborhood association, according to the story.
Bentley's officials were unavailable for comment on the report Tuesday afternoon.
"For many, many years — and I say many, gosh, maybe 10 years — the noise has just been crazy," Oak Park-Northwood Neighborhood Association President Gina Eisenberg told MySA. "When everybody came back from COVID, this bar manager ... decided to build this outdoor patio with amplified sound with speakers ... And not just on weekends but during the week on school nights, [there’s] loud, blaring music until like 2 in the morning."
Eisenberg told MySA the neighborhood association tried to smooth over the situation with Jesse Tavitas, the owner of Bentley's, but has met with no success. She added that she's also been in contact with local law enforcement, city officials and the owners of the building Bentley’s Bar is leasing.
City officials told MySA that both locations of Bentley’s Bar became the subject of the City’s Dangerous Assessment Response Team (DART) inspections on July 20, 2023, and March 27, 2024.
"These violations included several structures being utilized with no certificates of occupancy to ensure safety and no permits being obtained for safe construction of said structures," a city representative told MySA. "In addition, these locations have received an inordinate number of noise related complaints."
San Antonio Police Department data suggests the word "inordinate" is an understatement.
Between January and April of this year, SAPD received 68 noise disturbance calls tied to Bentley’s Bar, MySA reports. In that same time frame last year, people filed 18 noise complaints against the establishment, marking a more than threefold increase.
The City Attorney’s Office met with bar owner Tavitas, and ordered him to cease and desist operations, the City spokesperson told MySA. The nightspots are required to remain closed for the duration of the investigation.
Bentley's Bar operates two locations, at 802 N. Alamo Street and 8123 Broadway.
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Bentley's Bar shut down by City of San Antonio, pending code-violation, noise investigation
City officials delivered a cease-and-desist letter to the owner of Bentley's downtown nightspots, a news site reports.
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Nina Rangel
Nina Rangel uses nearly 20 years of experience in the foodservice industry to tell the stories of movers and shakers in the food scene in San Antonio. As the Food + Nightlife Editor for the San Antonio Current, she showcases her passion for the Alamo City’s culinary community by promoting local flavors, uncovering...
