The Drunk Uncle's liquor license, West Allis council votes to revoke
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The Brief
The West Allis Common Council voted to revoke the tavern license for The Drunk Uncle.
In March, a council committee approved issuing a notice of non-renewal for the alcohol license.
The non-renewal was unrelated to a lawsuit that had been filed against the bar.
WEST ALLIS, Wis. - The West Allis Common Council on Tuesday voted 9-0 to revoke the liquor, tavern and public entertainment licenses for The Drunk Uncle – closing the bar that had been under fire for months, effective immediately.
Slew of incidents
The backstory
Neal Steffek has owned The Drunk Uncle, which has faced a slew of incidents, for 12 years. The most recent trouble came on Saturday.
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On Friday, Steffek posted on the bar's social media saying "things don't look good" for The Drunk Uncle. Because of that, the bar would offer free alcohol to everyone starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The Drunk Uncle
"I can't take it with me, and so let's just give it away – get rid of it. Because after today it is worthless," he said.
West Allis police said they were called to the bar multiple times on Saturday – first for a fight, later for a person who was "highly intoxicated" and hit their head. Police then closed the bar early.
Back in March, the city of West Allis filed a complaint with seven counts against Steffek – who denied them all. The complaint listed sexual harassment, verbal assault and aggressive behavior.
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"Somebody gets one bad review, and the city goes on a witch hunt them down," said Steffek.
In March, a customer left a bad review – and Steffek responded with "you are a fat nerd with no friends." One of the bartenders said the response to the review was Steffek's humor, and the customer was drunk when they came in. That customer sued, citing Steffek left a review for her at her job.
"Not every day you make national reviews for a drunk girl's online review. So here we are," Steffek said.
What now?
What they're saying
Owner Neal Steffek and his staff showed up with a petition of more than 300 signatures from people who wanted the bar to stay open, and the only people who spoke at Tuesday night's meeting also supported the bar.
"Are we going to go to every other bar and look up all their negative reviews? Because I could start pulling them up left and right," said bartender April Kreush. "It's like, why did we just get talked to?"
The Drunk Uncle
What's next
Steffek said he's not sure what is in store for him next.
"I'm broke. I have no job now," said Steffek.
The Source
Information in this report is from the West Allis Common Council, West Allis Police Department and prior FOX6 News coverage of The Drunk Uncle.
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