Downtown Augusta tends to go through phases where all is peaceful and business thrives, then one act of criminality shakes the community and creates the perception that the entire area is unsafe at any hour.
It used to be that criminals would rear their ugliness because of lax policing; but now that we have a strong, law and order sheriff, it seems to be the Augusta Commission that is coddling the criminals.
Tiffany’s Eatery on the 800 block of Broad Street has become a thorn in the side of law enforcement.
Sheriff Eugene Brantley attended the last meeting of the Public Service Committee armed with a list of complaints the size of the Thomson phone directory as well as a video and made a plea to commissioners to suspend the “eatery’s” liquor and business license.
“Tiffany’s has consistently operated outside the parameters of a restaurant and has instead functioned as a nightclub charging cover fees, allowing widespread smoking indoors, operating a dance floor and serving alcohol well past allowable hours,” Brantley told the commission.
As Sheriff’s Inv. Jose Ortiz began reading off the list of violations when Commissioner Al Mason broke in and said, “I’ve heard enough.”
The videos show people packed in like sardines in a room with no tables from which to eat, dancing to a deejay, but Mason’s take was, “This has only gone on for a few months.”
If Mason were as plugged into the community as he likes to claim, he would know that Brantley’s predecessor had hardly any deputies patrolling downtown on weekends, meanwhile Brantley has made safety downtown a priority. That should be enough for Mason to want to pull this weed out of the flower bed, instead we get:
“I’ve heard enough.”
Even former Planning and Zoning Director Carla Delaney, who was known for her leniency, admitted the business had “been in and out of compliance for years.”
Commissioner Jordan Johnson piped up and said he believed the matter was due to “selective outrage,” as if other “restaurants” downtown are doing the same thing and are being given a pass by the cops.
“Any more violations, and we should hold them to the same standards (as other establishments),” Johnson reasoned.
By the look on the face of committee Chairperson Catherine Smith Rice, she had heard enough, too.
“I don’t think there is breakfast being served at Tiffany’s…when we have a deputy taken to the hospital, what’s next?” Smith Rice asked.
We know what will happen next, because it has happened before. Someone will have to get seriously hurt or killed for the commission to take notice and, as usual, they will focus the blame on everyone but themselves.
The ordinances and regulations pertaining to bars and restaurants are written in English, not Yiddish, and despite the owners lying and claiming citations written in February were their “first offense,” they knew they were breaking the law by operating a speakeasy right out in the open.
The owners even admitted that when their patrons show up at 3 a.m., they are already intoxicated from drinking at other bars and they serve them anyway, which is, in itself, a violation of the law. They also admitted they had to pat down patrons entering for guns and knives, another red flag.
This case originally went before the commission a month ago and the commission passed the ball back to the committee, who in turn has passed it back to full commission with no recommendation.
We strongly urge Mayor Garnett Johnson to work to gather the six votes needed to suspend this juke joint’s alcohol license and send a message that the rules apply to everyone.
