JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Lackawanna neighborhood bar has been forced to shut its doors following a weekend undercover sting prompted by months of neighborhood complaints.
Tipsy’s, a local establishment long plagued by allegations of misconduct, was slapped with a cease-and-desist order and a stop-work order following a multi-agency raid on Saturday. Visitors to the property on Monday were greeted by locked doors, broken windows, and city closure notices posted on the building.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) spearheaded the operation alongside several regulatory agencies. According to investigators, the joint task force uncovered a list of severe safety and legal infractions inside the establishment.
The Jacksonville Fire Marshal cited the business for multiple hazardous conditions, including unsafe electrical wiring, overcrowding, and various structural code violations.
Investigators caught three separate employees selling alcohol past Florida’s legal 2 a.m. cutoff time.
“As a result of that, we ended up writing several of the employees notices to appear,” said JSO Spokesperson Christian Hancock. “In lieu of taking them to jail that night, we just wrote them a notice to appear, which is a citation.”
Hancock added that the weekend enforcement action was the culmination of months of community frustration. Law enforcement had responded to repeated calls for service at the address. At least two shootings have happened at or near the area within the past few months. Residents have raised alarms over underage drinking, late-night alcohol sales, and recurring violence.
For employees and owners at neighboring businesses, the closure is a long-overdue relief. Many stated that the problems tied to the bar have degraded the surrounding area for years.
“If there’s a cease and desist for business there, I think that should have happened a long time ago,” said one nearby employee, who asked to remain anonymous.
The employee described a weekly routine of cleaning up hazardous debris left behind by the bar’s clientele.
“Every Monday morning we come to work, there’s always broken bottles on the outside of the fence,” the worker said. “There’s food boxes. I’ve picked up needles in front of the front gate.”
While the long-term future of Tipsy’s remains unclear, the immediate shutdown.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
