SAN ANTONIO — The City of San Antonio has forced a bar on Broadway to shut its doors.
Earlier this month, Bentley’s Bar announced it was closed for remodeling. Neighborhood groups, however, said there's more to the story of why it locked its doors for now.
Gina Eisenberg, president of the Oak Park Northwood Neighborhood Association, says homeowners have been fighting a silent battle with the noisy establishment for years.
“For 10 years, when the sun goes down, the neighbors who live in this part of Oak Park Northwood are used to hearing boom, boom, boom and bass,” Eisenberg said. “We are not against people having fun, but when it starts infringing on our peace and mental wellness, it really becomes taxing. The loud noise at night is kind of like a musical assault on our peaceful neighborhood.”
Kyle Countryman, vice president of the Heights at Ridgecrest Neighborhood Association, said limited parking exacerbated frustrations with the bar.
“[Bentley's] customers parked on both sides (of our street)," Countryman said. "They would block our driveways. I even had people asking to pay to park in my driveway. We worked with the city to get ‘No Parking’ signs installed, and that helped tremendously.
"Then, there were several nights we heard gunshots.”
According to Eisenberg, neighborhood groups tried to work with the bar’s owner to reduce the noise and safety concerns.
“People don’t follow the ordinance because no one can enforce it,” she said. “The police are too busy to go around and be the noise police. How do you legislate good business behavior?”
Homeowners worked diligently with police and City Council members, Eisenberg says.
“We didn’t give up and we continued to make complaints with police,” she said.
On April 8, the city sent Bentley’s a cease-and-desist letter citing multiple code violations, including no certificates of occupancy or permits, "as well as an inordinate number of calls for police service due to fights, aggravated assaults, disturbances and noise complaints."
On Tuesday, the San Antonio city attorney's office said both Bentley's locations along North Alamo and Broadway "became the subject of the city's Dangerous Assessment Response Team (DART) inspections on July 20, 2023, and March 27, 2024, respectively due to numerous code violations" and in response to "an inordinate number of noise-related complaints."
"The City Attorney’s Office met with the operator and ordered him to cease and desist operations until these issues are corrected," the statement continues. "Both locations must remain closed while the investigation continues and are pending final resolution."
'I'm about to jump out of my skin'
Residents say the noise peaked during the pandemic when the owner decided to turn a portion of the parking lot into a patio. An outdoor bar was installed, and homeowners tell us a DJ would blare loud music over outdoor speakers without any sound barriers.
“I got so tired of hearing the DJ saying, ‘Jump! Jump! Jump!’” Countryman said, laughing. “It’s like, ‘I’m about to jump out of my skin.’”
Bentley’s Bar on Broadway recently received a $7,500 grant from the city to help with soundproofing.
“We’ve all been wondering where that grant went to,” Countryman said.
Homeowners say plywood went up around the patio. But so did the noise.
“Because then they thought, ‘Oh, we can turn [the music] loud,’” Eisenberg said.
According to a spokesperson for Bentley’s Bar, the location on Alamo Street received the green light to reopen after being inspected by the city.
However, staff will need more time to make the necessary improvements to the location on Broadway. The owner released the following statement:
“Bentley’s Bar has taken this opportunity to bring in an architect to help with sound mitigation. We are taking all of our neighbors’ feedback into consideration, and would like to remain in good standing with the community. Many changes are happening immediately in order to help the nearby residents sleep better at night and no longer have any noise disruptions.
"While we are closed, we are committed to making sure the day we reopen we no longer deal with this issue. The management department hears everyone; especially the residents closest to us. We would like to formally apologize for all inconveniences. We hope to see everyone soon, but our top priority are the concerns of our neighbors.”
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