Court Allows Mr. J’s To Reopen

Mr. J’s Lounge is back, for now.

On Monday morning, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Kristy Yang granted the bar, 4610 W. Fond du Lac Ave., an injunction.

It had been closed since Wednesday following a Common Council vote to deny renewal of its liquor license renewal. But owner Jeffrey L. Jones, with attorneys Michael Maistelman and Vince Bobot, contested the decision in court and were granted temporary, relief. A status conference is scheduled for April 15 that may result in a more long-term decision.

The business has seen two patrons murdered on or adjacent to its property in recent years. But neither incident has happened inside the bar. In February, a council committee reviewed everything that happened during the past year and all but one of the items in a police report were incidents that took place outside of the bar. That was a fact highlighted by the legal team in its motion to the court.

The legal team also noted that Alderman Jose G. Perez‘s nephew was the victim in one of the homicides and Perez should not have voted on the decision. Perez abstained without explanation when the full council voted, but made a motion during the February committee meeting to deny the license renewal.

Area alderman Khalif Rainey supported the closure, but did not speak much on the topic at either the committee meeting or the council meeting. Multiple neighbors testified in support of a closure.

“You can’t stop the gun violence, but that location is the meeting location for all the young thugs,” said area resident Prince Harris. He said the bar was not following its plan of operation to only allow patrons that are at least 30 years old.

“I am in favor of this bar closing. They don’t work with us. They don’t care about us. They’re full of crap. That’s my testimony,” said Timothy Scott,

The first homicide occurred in December 2020 when photographer Robb Smith was shot in the back of the head after leaving the bar.

The second homicide occurred in August 2021 when a patron left the bar and punched an individual standing in a group outside. Partially captured by the bar’s security camera system, at least one member of the group started shooting only for the patron to pull out a handgun and return fire. The patron that threw the punch later died.

Maistelman, in February, said his client was seeking a “small suspension,” not closure. He said a new security firm was doing a better job. The attorney noted that a June incident involved a security guard being shot while patrolling a nearby street. A July incident involved a potential burglar entering the tavern with a rifle before being tackled by security.

Mr. J’s first opened in 1976 as a jazz and R&B lounge under the ownership of Arlis Jones. The bar was previously located at 533 E. Center St.  Jones passed away in 2017. Jeffrey Jones, 61, has owned it since.

In January 2021 the business was briefly closed after it was found that it was operating with an expired license. A $3,234 fine was levied according to a police report.

Maistelman has multiple legal challenges pending before the courts involving council oversight of bar licenses.