Troubled Onyx nightclub surrenders licenses
The troubled Onyx nightclub has surrendered its liquor and entertainment licenses following a shooting earlier this month.
Onyx Social Club & Restaurant, 3120 W. Villard Ave., voluntarily gave up its licenses Monday, Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton said.
"Onyx has some challenges and those challenges have been a problem for residents living nearby and for patrons,” Hamilton said Tuesday in a statement announcing the decision.
The most recent trouble was an Oct. 16 shooting near Onyx following an altercation that occurred inside the club.
In that case, 22-year-old Lillie Jones, a Wisconsin Department of Corrections employee, was bound over for trial Monday on charges related to the shooting of a 22-year-old woman. The two women were involved in an altercation at Onyx and, after they left, Jones shot the woman as the victim sat inside a car, according to a criminal complaint.
This month's shooting was just the latest trouble for the club. Earlier this year, a 27-year-old was shot during a fight inside the club on Milwaukee's north side.
Back in September 2013, Common Council members voted to shut down the club after hearing police testimony that the place was a "chronic policing problem." Neighbors had reported hearing random gunfire, noise, fighting and experiencing serious crowd and traffic problems.
The following April, the club, renamed Onyx Social Club & Restaurant, returned with a new person in charge: Jerrel Jones, 74, publisher of the Milwaukee Courier, a weekly newspaper, and owner of WNOV-AM 680. Obiora Obi, the club's former operator, remained a co-owner.
At that time, Milwaukee police told aldermen they opposed giving Jones the licenses to operate because of the past problems, which included the shooting of a security guard, the stabbing of a patron, fighting and drug possession, and Jones' own lack of experience.
The Common Council ultimately voted to give Jones the license in July 2014.
The club's most recent liquor license application, which was filed in June 2016, listed Jones and Obi as co-owners. Neither could be reached for comment Tuesday.
The club was supposed to have a 25 and over age restriction, online city records show.
“Licenses to operate an establishment in the City of Milwaukee are a privilege, and my goal is to maintain balance and cohesiveness by ensuring that businesses abide by very clear standards of safety, health and order in the neighborhood,” Hamilton said Tuesday.