A popular yet controversial establishment in Fort Worth's West 7th District closed at the beginning of this year.
The City of Fort Worth wants to keep it that way.
Varsity Tavern on Norwood St. opened in 2016 and shut its doors without explanation on New Year's Day.
The owners of Varsity Tavern, JJM Group LLC, is looking to reopen the establishment as Tequila Ranch and has filed an application with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission for a liquor license.
District 9 Councilwoman Elizabeth Beck filed a protest of that application with the TABC.
"It really became clear to me that Tequila Ranch was nothing more than Varsity Tavern in cowboy boots," Beck tells KRLD News. "The ownership structure was staying the same. Management didn't seem to be any different. There wasn't a commitment to have someone full time in the City of Fort Worth."
In the protest, Beck indicates two grounds for the protest.
One is criminal activity occurring at the place of business.
Varsity Tavern was the site of several police calls in the seven years it was open, including a shooting in May outside the establishment that left two people injured.
Varsity Tavern had been cited several times by the TABC, mostly for serving alcohol to minors, and has paid $4,800 in fines.
Beck says Varsity Tavern was an overall nuisance.
"That goes back to their discriminatory dress code practices," says Beck, referencing incidents in which bouncers at Varsity Tavern would selectively enforce its dress code, allegedly in an attempt to keep Black patrons out. "During COVID, they did not follow the 25% rule (occupancy limited to 25% of what's indicated on the business' certificates of occupancy)."
Beck also cites traffic flow, noise and over-proliferation of bars and alcohol-selling restaurants in the immediate area.
"This protest is brought based on the belief that issuance of this permit will injure the general welfare, health, peace, morals, and safety of the people who reside in the community and who frequent this location, as well as the public sense of decency,": Beck writes on the protest form.
While Varsity Tavern didn't indicate a reason that it closed on January 1, data from the Texas Comptroller's Office indicates that JMM Group LLC's right to transact business in Texas is forfeited, although it does not give a date as to when it was forfeited.
The TABC indicates that JMM Group LLC has an active license, which expires in October.
The TABC says it's not unusual for a bar that has closed to still have an active liquor license.
But it says in order for JMM Group LLC to obtain a new liquor license, it would have to surrender its old one first.
The TABC will consider Beck's protest at a later date; until then, the application will remain in a pending status.
Beck says people she has spoken to say the West 7th District is better off without Varsity Tavern, no matter what name it goes by.
"The response is overwhelming from the community that Varsity Tavern is not a trusted member of the community, and Varsity Tavern in cowboy boots is concerning," says Beck. "It's our goal to make sure that we are bringing the best people down there and the best types of businesses, and that we're making West 7th more of a family friendly place that everyone in Fort Worth wants to visit."
JMM Group LLC's address comes back to an apartment in Lewisville, and the phone number listed comes back to a tax preparation service in Dallas.
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