The Tin Roof 2, located just outside of Nashville in Franklin, Tennessee, has been closed and padlocked after 70 incidents with police have reportedly occurred within the bar since the beginning of the year.
According to WSMV, the 70 incidents include “13 assaults, rape, public indecency, theft, gun possession, theft, and DUI.”
“Tin Roof 2 is a public nuisance and has been granted a writ of temporary injunction abating a nuisance, padlocking premises, and allowing the search of the premises,” local police told the outlet.
Kevin Thompson, the attorney for co-owners Jason Shear and Kyle McPhee, says the closure is unfair.
“I think padlocking the doors without giving notice to their council, without giving notice to the owners is a very drastic measure,” Kevin stated, adding that the owners were unaware of the issues the police are alleging.
“These guys deserve better and they’re going to defend themselves as aggressively as they possibly can,” the attorney said.
“Most of the incidents here all happened off the premise and it’s important for the community to understand that,” he continued. “Nothing has really happened inside the bar which is within their control.”
The Franklin Police say closing Tin Roof 2 was a last resort.
“The Franklin Police Department, city officials, and District Attorney’s Office consider the padlocking of a business a last resort when a business blatantly promotes behavior that jeopardizes the safety of our citizens and community,” the police department said in a statement.
News Channel 5 reports that law enforcement has been called to Tin Roof 2 a total of 162 times, with 137 of those calls coming from May through the end of August.
This isn’t the first time Tin Roof 2 has been in the news. In May, the popular bar was criticized after pictures emerged of a packed restaurant, without anyone practicing social distancing or wearing a mask, in spite of the rules at the time allowing only bars to be open at 50 percent capacity, because of COVID-19.
“We are meeting all of Governor Lee’s guidelines. Our employees are all aware of them,” one of the owners told WSMV at the time. “I don’t know when pictures are taken. People can post things whenever they want. I don’t know when the pictures were taken,”
No one is allowed into Tin Roof 2, including the owners, pending a court date on October 12.