Collins is referring to "Mug Shots" near downtown Toledo and "CJ's Bar and Grill" in north Toledo. Both are in commercial residential neighborhoods. He says "The Omni," located near the University of Toledo campus, draws a younger crowd.
"In all three cases there are a lot of police calls, and by saying a lot, way beyond anything that the average bar in the city of Toledo would have," Collins says.
All three bars may have a hard time getting their liquor licenses renewed. The final decision rests with city council, but a council committee is already recommending they decline the renewals.
Karl Armstrong works at The Omni and says they only have problems on college nights. "I think it's dumb, but I can understand, because the students get out of hand, and you can have 1,000 security guards and you still can't police everything that happens out in the parking lots," he says.
While Councilman Collins agrees that The Omni's environment is different than the other two bars, he refuses to blame the students alone. He says, "To assume this is a UT student problem is something that I will not accept. This is a situation where, regardless if they're college students or not, it's a mingling of people from various parts of the city of Toledo, and the permit holder is not sufficiently controlling the behavior."
The Toledo Police Department has investigated each business. Statements from neighbors and police officers about crimes at each bar led the committee to its decision.
Armstrong says there's another solution. "If anything, they might be able to help by having more police presence here," he suggests.
Toledo City Council will decide whether they support the license renewals over the next two weeks. In the end, the final decision is up to the state.
