17 August 21 - 27, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents crowds and late nights would almost certainly be safer, but it wouldn’t be quite as entertain- ing. (Think of it as the city planning version of creating a desert and calling it peace.) Bar and restaurant owners are calling for better policing and more arrests instead. More than one bar owner has reported that groups of young adults and teens freely walk around Deep Ellum late at night with open containers, which isn’t legal in Deep Ellum or Texas. In March of this year, 21-year-old Jonathan Santos was fatally shot outside of Rodeo Dallas. Police said Santos was killed while trying to break up a fight that began inside the venue. The cops have said they can’t make ar- rests because it would require them to leave their beats to take someone to the station. To address this, DPD has recently assigned two paddy wagons to Deep Ellum. A photo from Saturday, Aug. 3, around midnight, shows a dozen officers, some holding pepper ball canisters, gathered in front of Rodeo Dallas. Shortly after the photo was taken, officers fired a pepper ball into the crowd after a fight broke out on the street. A bar owner nearby said this was the second time pepper balls had been used in the past month — customers had to be es- corted out of the back of the bar to avoid the remnants of the spray. While this method did clear out the fight, it also cleared out business for every bar on the street, even those not involved in any of the incidents. Keller Hudiberg confirmed that pepper balls are something used to disperse crowds and that two paddy wagons are now parked in Deep Ellum on the weekends, although DPD would not confirm either of those things. Another problem for a bar owner who asked to remain anonymous is that cops set up a perimeter, which now includes road closures at 10 p.m., but don’t patrol the mid- dle; cops will congregate in one area while the rest is left unpatrolled. This echoes what others have said: The area needs better, pro- active police work, not just a higher number of cops. A Neighborhood Effort A ccording to the Texas State Comp- troller reports, Rodeo sold almost $640,000 in booze alone in June, so Deep Ellum likely hasn’t seen the last of it. In fact, the ownership group — Joseph JD Ybanez and Josh Reagan — is opening another bar right across the street from Ro- deo called Trophy. “If you stand out front on a Saturday night, it’s pretty clear there’s a lack of con- trol,” says Jeff Biehler, who owns the now- closed Cheapsteaks and is working on a new concept, Dusty’s, at the same location. “If we want to see real change in the neighbor- hood, it’s going to take a team effort — and that includes Rodeo. The city is paying close attention, and that kind of spotlight isn’t do- ing them any favors.” Keller Hudiberg spoke about the mea- sures bars need to enforce to ensure they’re operating safely. These measures include se- curity cameras and a beefed-up security team, including bouncers and experienced doormen. Running a busy club requires spe- cial attention to all these issues. To All Interested Persons and Parties: Airlite Plastics Co., has applied to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for issuance of Proposed Air Quality Permit Number 180896, which would authorize construction of expandable polystyrene foam manufacturing plant located at 3901 Pipestone Road, Dallas, Dallas County, Texas 75212. This application was processed in an expedited manner, as allowed by the commission’s rules in 30 Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 101, Subchapter J. Additional information concerning this application is contained in the public notice section of this newspaper. GOT WEEKEND PLANS? NOW YOU DO! Scan here to view our events calendar (updated daily!) D
