Banana Joe's
Banana Joe's Island Party was a nightclub located at 1016 20th Street South in Five Points South. The club was owned by "Birmingham Entertainment LLC", which was incorporated in Ohio by Joel Field on July 31, 2003. It was part of a chain owned by the Field Development Group. That firm has been named in numerous lawsuits and criminal indictments against various locations of Banana Joe's for non-payment of vendors and contractors.
Early in the morning of July 5, 2008 a fight which started inside Banana Joe's was continued with gunplay in the parking lot behind the club, resulting in two deaths and two other injuries from gunfire. Following the incident the club's owner told city officials that the nightclub would be shut down voluntarily for at least two months.
The Five Points South Merchants Group asked the Birmingham City Council to consider revoking the club's business license. The Council's Public Safety Committee heard from the Police Department that 74 incidents had been reported at the club since June 2006 and that department officials would characterize it as a "public nuisance". The committee voted on July 16 to recommend revoking the license. A public hearing on the issue was canceled after club owners voluntarily surrendered their license and expressed no desire to re-open.
| Preceded by: Arena |
1016 20th Street South ?- 2008 |
Succeeded by: Five Points South Music Hall |
References
- Friedman, Mark (June 3, 2003) "Bunch of lawsuits slip up on Banana Joe's". Arkansas Business
- Coman, Victoria (July 8, 2008) "Birmingham City Council asked to revoke business license of Banana Joe's bar." Birmingham News
- Rossman-Reich, Philip (July 16, 2008) "Close Banana Joe's, committee recommends." Birmingham News
- Cooper, Lauren B. (August 4, 2008) "Banana Joe's night club voluntarily closes." Birmingham Business Journal
External links
- Banana Joe's on MySpace.com