Downtown La Crosse boasts more than 20 bars, and recent data reveals an average of 6.9 bars per 10,000 residents. This gives the La Crosse-Onalaska area the highest number of bars per capita of any U.S. metro area.
Latino Bar and Grill, located on 5th Avenue South, is newer to the bar scene, compared to well-established spots like Brothers Bar and Del’s Bar. However it has grown in popularity, especially among one key group: college students. Since its opening in April of 2022, the establishment has been met with complaints of underage drinking from the community.
According to the City of La Crosse, Latino Bar and Grill has accumulated 321 citations since its opening and 95% were citations for minors in possession of alcohol or false identification. This number is considerably higher than other bars in downtown La Crosse, The Library Bar falls second on the list with 103 citations since April of 2022.
On Feb 19, La Crosse City Council held a special meeting with the Judiciary & Administration Committee to consider the city-issued warning that could lead to the loss of Latino Bar and Grill’s liquor license.
Latino Bar and Grill was represented by Attorney Timothy Maher. In closing statements on Wednesday, Maher mentioned the abatement plan given to Latino Bar by the City of La Crosse, this includes steps to avoid future violations. One of these steps was to include scanning technology has part of the checks bouncers do before allowing entry into the bar.
“If the abatement plan was to do anything it was to try and move towards compliance,” said Maher. “They have implemented scanning technology.”
Maher acknowledged the reputation of Latino Bar. He said, “When you have a reputation in the community of thats the bar to go to to drink underage they are going to have much more difficultly enforcing the problem on their hands than most of the other bars.”
The City of La Crosse Police Department was represented by Attorneys Ellen Atterbury and Gideon Wertheimer.
The city called La Crosse Police Department Chief Shawn Kudron, La Crosse Police Department Lieutenant Jon Wenger, University of Wisconsin – La Crosse Police Sergeant Nicole Miller and La Crosse Police Department Sergeant Ethan Purkapile as witnesses to testify against the Latino Bar.
“In terms of the scale of what we’re dealing with today, the scale that’s being presented to you today, the numbers, I’ve never seen anything quite like this,” said Kudron.
Kudron told the Judiciary and Administration Committee about “habitual” violations at the bar.
Kudron stated there have been, “Physical fights, people who deal with physical issues because of the fact that there’s some sort of confrontation.”
Miller, who interacts primarily with UWL students, stated in her testimony that she believes underage individuals will continue to go to the bar. She had concerns about the frequency of interactions between the university and students “so intoxicated they have lost total control of their mental and physical faculties, requiring EMS involvement or hospitalization.”
On Thursday, Feb 20 the City Council found the compliant by the City of La Crosse Police Department to be true and revoked the liquor license of Latino Bar and Grill effective immediately.
