Jewels Caribbean is Temporarily Closed

2220-2244 N. Martin Luther King Jr Dr. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

Jewels Caribbean is approaching the halfway point of its two-week temporary closure — the result of a clash between its owners and Milwaukee Licenses Committee members during a hearing last week.

But despite some concerns by council members, the restaurant, lounge and event space at 2230 N. Martin Luther King Jr Dr. will be allowed to reopen on Feb. 6, with the approval of the committee and the neighborhood’s Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs. The full Milwaukee Common Council is unlikely to overturn that decision.

Owner Lennora Jules and her sister, Natasha, appeared before the committee on Jan. 23. At that time, committee members raised concerns over a police report for the establishment, which detailed incidents of illegal parking, patrons smoking marijuana on the premises and a shots-fired complaint.

In response, the sisters said they’ve been working to resolve the issues, namely the use of marijuana on-site, but that there’s only so much they can do as business owners.

“We are doing the very best we can to get people to stop,” Lennora said, noting that the business has no smoking signs posted both inside and out. “But people sneak behind our backs and sometimes they get [marijuana] past security.”

If patrons are caught with marijuana, they are asked to throw it out or step outside, the sisters said. “It’s a difficult problem to resolve for any establishment in our city.”

The sisters offered similar explanations for the other two items on the police report, telling committee members that they try to prevent patrons from engaging in illegal activity, but can only control what goes on within the walls of the business.

When patrons leave the building, they said, the responsibility shifts to law enforcement. That goes for everything from firearm use to parking in front of the nearby bus stop.

“It’s just like downtown Milwaukee. Sometimes people park where they’re not supposed to park,” said Lennora, who added that the business has a parking lot and directs patrons to use it.

“If they park on the street, well, that unfortunately becomes the police’s problem because we don’t own it. We don’t own the bus stop area,” Natasha said. “All we can do is tell people that they cannot park there.”

The statement prompted an audible sigh from Alderman Mark Chambers, Jr., who later urged the sisters to “take more ownership” of the incidents that occur near the establishment.

Area Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs also expressed dissatisfaction with the sisters’ responses. “To assert that, outside of the doors, there is no responsibility for what happens is blatantly untrue,” she said. “And we do hold you responsible for what your patrons bring to a neighborhood.”

“There is more that you all as owners can do.”

Committee members also questioned the sisters about flyers distributed by promoters of the business. The flyers, which appear on social media, include the address for Jewels Caribbean. But instead of the business name, the advertisements list the location as Club Lit.

Coggs said she had already communicated her concerns over the flyers with the sisters last year.

“There are constituents who have brought the Club Lit thing to my attention, believing that you all are now called Club Lit,” she said. “This is not one flyer that was done incorrectly. This is an ongoing issue.”

The committee’s interest in the matter stems from a concern that Jewels Caribbean may be operating as a nightclub under another brand. But the sisters said that the business name was left off by accident.

“I’m not doing business as another name,” Lennora said. “This is not like some unique or covert or conspiracy thing. It’s a flyer that has to be corrected.”

Coggs remained skeptical, explaining that another entrepreneur, Lakisha Rollins, planned to open a business called Lit Lounge in the building in 2021, but later withdrew her application.

The sisters said they were unaware of the plan and had never met Rollins; however, a Facebook post from Jewels Caribbean, written a few months after the aforementioned application was filed, said that Lit Lounge would be taking over the building on an upcoming Saturday.

Coggs then questioned whether Jewels Caribbean is currently operating, since a provisional license for the business expired on Jan. 4. The sisters said they were, and claimed they were unaware that the license expired.

After nearly 45 minutes of testimony, Coggs recommended that the license be renewed with a warning letter. She did not agree to issue another provisional license, effectively closing the business until the meeting of the full council on Feb. 6.

“This conversation has been troubling, and the stuff on the police report is also troubling,” the alderwoman said.

Coggs said she took into account that the sisters recently sold the building and plan to leave the space in the coming months. An affiliate of Emem Group purchased the three-building property, 2220-2244 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., which includes the restaurant space, in early 2024.

“That’s me giving a little grace,” Coggs said. “If I believed you guys were going to be there longer term, I probably would’ve fought for some level of greater discipline.”

The Jules family has owned the property since 2018. Emem Group, led by founder Michael Emem, is seeking a new operator to take over the restaurant space, the sisters said.

Back in 2022, the Jules family made plans to turn much of the complex into an event venue and coworking space for small businesses, Urban Milwaukee previously reported. Today, the 12,557-square-foot complex is mostly vacant. Remaining tenants include the Republican Party of Milwaukee County and the Milwaukee Times weekly newspaper.