Cheerleaders (finally) loses its license
This one's been a long time coming: Last week, the liquor board revoked the license of the shady Fells Point bar Cheerleaders. This piece says it best:
Liquor commissioners said they stripped the bar of its license after a series of attacks inside the club. On May 15, police were called to Cheerleaders for a fight that spilled into the street and left two women hospitalized, according to a Southwestern District officer who testified during Thursday's hearing. The next night, another fight broke out at the bar that required the entire Fells Point police sector, about 40 officers, to bring it under control, according to testimony.
I never wrote about Cheerleaders, because the management threatened my life ...
I first stopped by Cheerleaders several years ago when they were rehabbing the place. The manager was a fellow named Francis Lee, who at the time had recently been released from prison. He used to run the nearby Ritz Cabaret, before he was convicted of laundering purported drug money and hiring illegal immigrants as dancers.
Lee and I talked about what he planned to do with the place. But when I told him I'd have to use his name in the piece, he didn't like that. In fact, he told me he would have me killed if I mentioned his name. Then he gave a nervous laugh, as if to imply that he was joking. But he didn't blink.
I'm not someone who takes death threats lightly -- especially from convicts. So I didn't write about Cheerleaders. In fact, I'd forgotten about the place until all the violence erupted there.
I have to say, I'm glad Cheerleaders is gone. I certainly won't miss it.
I've been The Baltimore Sun's nightlife and local entertainment reporter for a couple years, and it's surprising how much the scene has grown in that time. Most of Baltimore's bars and clubs are unpretentious places with fairly cheap drinks and plenty of character. I like dancing and think this city needs more clubs, but nothing beats having a cold, locally brewed beer with friends in a comfortably full corner bar.
Comments
That's funny. I ran into this kid I knew (forget his name) from a defunct restaurant. When I asked what he was doing he said he and the girl he was with were managing Cheerleaders. Okay. The funny part is that this occurred on Friday night. This Friday night.
Posted by: Owl Meat Gravy | November 1, 2009 11:04 AM
Holy crap.
Posted by: Brad | November 1, 2009 11:45 AM
Hallelujah!!!! Oh that place was awful just to walk by! And one of my favorite bars is located right next door. I've seen so many fights spilling out of there on many of occasion. I say good riddance. Fogleman for mayor!
Posted by: Siana | November 2, 2009 11:35 AM
That's 3 votes for Fogleman for mayor. When is the election. He'll doo a great job. Let's start an Midnight Sun campaign!
Posted by: anon; | November 2, 2009 2:09 PM
3 votes? I think that's more than I got when I ran for State's Attorney against Patricia Jessamy, though I was endorsed by City Paper.
Don Farley for Mayor!
Fogleman for re-appointment to the Liquor Board.
Posted by: LiquorBoarding | November 2, 2009 6:50 PM
hercules hercules!!! cheerleaders was the worssssst!
Posted by: Mel | November 3, 2009 10:18 AM
wait a second -- Sam Sessa wusses out, caves in to a threat, and doesn't print an article about an ex-con club owner, and we're supposed to be proud?
grow some balls, dude. there used to be real reporters in this town.
granted, they didn't write for a blog about nightclubs that largely ignores the nightclubs that this city's 65% black community patronizes, but they were real reporters.
Posted by: Harvey Duncan | November 5, 2009 10:32 AM
Mr. Duncan, are you calling Sam cilantro? The Chinese parsley of reporters? Big mistake. You know, that big "S" on his Underoos is not just for Sessa. Roughing up brigands, thugs, and freebooters is strictly an off hours activity for him. By day he maintains his cover as a mild mannered reporter in office casual wear sporting a fedora with a press pass that says "SCOOP". He consumes vast quantities of Drank to curb his righteous crime-fighting rage until he can unleash it on the Naked City after dark. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It's Xtreme Sessa!
Posted by: Jimmie Olson | November 5, 2009 11:46 AM
there used to be real reporters in this town.
Don't blame Sam, he did the right thing.
There used to be foreign bureaus, copy editors, and a business section. There used to be a real newspaper in this town.
Posted by: Lois Lane | November 5, 2009 4:49 PM