Anniston, AL – The Anniston City Council met with the purpose of a Public Hearing on Petition to Revoke the Business License of Rooftop 801. The result of this meeting was the revocation of the business license in a unanimous vote. Council members Roberts and Jenkins were not present.
Manual Santana had similar complaints in Jacksonville where he owned XHale Hookah Lounge. Jacksonville Police Chief, Marcus Wood, supported revocation due to multiple complaints of criminal activity. Mr. Santana also provided similar reasons for the violations of code ordinances in both Jacksonville and now Anniston.
Initially the City Manager Mr. Steven Folks petitioned the council for this public hearing for the business license issued to JMS, LLC, doing business as The Rooftop 801.
The business owner, several employees, Anniston Fire Department Marshal, Captain Jason Brown, and Anniston Police Chief, Nick Bowles, all spoke. Captain Brown stated that the business license was issued in February of 2023. There was also a liquor license applied for, but was not issued a license by the ABC Board. He also stated that the business was granted a restaurant business license, but has not been acting as a restaurant. He went on to say alcohol was consumed on premises without a license. He was also asked by the City Attorney if an attempt was made to resolve the issues with the owner. Captain Brown stated that there were three attempts to reach the owner and there was no response. Captain Brown also went on to state there was dangerous activity on the premises with the discharge of fireworks. There were also complaints from other occupants of the building of dangerous activity.
Chief Nick Bowles stated there were first hand accounts and videos of patrons smoking in full view of staff violating city ordinances. There were also first hand account complaints of patrons smoking marijuana. When asked about responding to violent calls there have been 11 calls responding to violent disturbance/fight calls. There have been two calls about firearms and seven assaults calls, and nine miscellaneous calls for service. All these calls were since February of 2023. He also stated he believes there is criminal activity taking place on premises. He also stated there were numerous videos showing dancers engaged in sexual behavior in violation of city ordinances. There have also been several noise complaints documented. He went on to state that it is in the public’s best interest to close this businesses. He also said it is fortunate that there has been no loss of life yet and that he has been doing this 23 years and has no doubt if left in operation this business will have loss of life or serious injuries at some point.
Owner Manual Santana called upon several employees that stated they understood the policy of serving liquor. They stated they only serve juice, ice, and cups. He stated they only advertised for BYOB when that was allowed. Once the city changed its policy he stated they no longer advertised for the bringing of personal alcohol. He also asked that the city change their policy and allow him to hire off duty police offers to patrol the parking area. He alleged that the police were not there to protect this city.
The mayor asked for confirmation that patrons were bringing in alcohol and the employee confirmed this was true. Mr. Santana also claimed that he only received one notice from the city and that it was not sent to the billing address on the city business license. As for the accusation of fireworks he stated, “So if I’m a victim of an act of terrorism instead of city officials coming to my aid and our aid, because of what could have been a disaster, there was nobody there”. Mr. Santana said first responders were called when the fireworks were set off but there was no response. When questioned by Councilwoman Smith if he had filed a report on terrorism he responded that he had not.
Mr. Santana went on to say he wants his restaurant to be a part of Anniston’s entertainment district and there were no other bars that serve food after 11:00 pm. He also went on to claim that Anniston is full of violence and he is not the cause or any worse than what happens on Quintard. He also stated he had an online petition that has over 1,200 signatures that want the restaurant to stay open.
When questioned by Councilwoman Smith about patrons bringing in alcohol he stated that the rules had been set, but they have not been followed. He also said he doesn’t work at the restaurant and can only fix things as he learns about them.
