The padlock has come off the Whole Note restaurant on MLK Boulevard – with a judge and the district attorney giving the establishment another chance to abate a “nuisance.”
District Attorney Bill Cox said the purpose of padlocking a firm “is not to stop business, but to stop a nuisance.” He said the restaurant had agreed to a number of conditions designed to do so.
Mr. Cox said there will be a review of the newly signed agreed order on Feb. 26 to determine how it is working out.
He said, “If the nuisance continues, I’m certain the police department will inform us of it, and we will take it to the judge.”
Criminal Court Judge Steve Bevil, who earlier agreed to the padlocking, signed off on the agreed order allowing the reopening.
The MLK Boulevard Merchants Association had complained to the City Council about the action, saying minority businesses were being unfairly closed.
However, Police Sgt. Robert Simpson said a number of business operators in the district told him they welcomed the closing.
Police say they answered 347 calls at or near the Whole Note over the past three years.
Attorney John Cavett said owners George O’Hara and Dedra Partridge had agreed to new security measures, including lighting, fencing and surveillance cameras.
He said the club had already taken some of those steps, but could open immediately while completing all the measures.
Mr. Cavett said club owners do not concede that many of the police calls were directly related to the club, and he said he foresees no problem in complying with the agreed order.