DOVER, Del.- Loockerman Street in Dover is a lot quieter these days, according to some people who live nearby. The bar on the main downtown street, Irish Mike's, has a sign in the window that reads 'closed until further notice.'
For some neighbors, it's a relief.
"After they closed, these amazingly large crowds would gather - Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday night sometimes - and many many times actually the police had to come in and actually disperse these crowds. So it was a little bit of a wild west around here after hours," explained Jeff Boyer, who lives down the street from the bar. "It could be quite frustrating and it's not necessarily even the patrons who could get loud. But you would have the motorcycles apparently don't have mufflers anymore. And the music would go to 22. It was just really frustrating and loud around here at night."
Irish Mike's is a long time staple in downtown Dover, but since May 1, 2021, Dover police have had to make more than 35 visits to the establishment. During those calls, police say there were 19 public disturbances, a rape, an assault, a stabbing, four shootings, two instances of offensive touching of an officer, and an arrest after police witnessed one individual conducting a drug transaction. Other times they were called to disperse a crowd, but did not arrest anyone.
After a meeting of city agencies, Mayor Robin Christiansen said they decided to suspend Irish Mike's license, which he says was not a decision they made lightly.
"We did it very reluctantly, but the precedent has already been set with other businesses that have been considered a nuisance or a draw for less than legal activity. And the mayor and city council and city staff are charged with public safety of our community and I felt that along those lines we were very much justified."
The bar's liquor license was also suspended as a result of it's business license being put on hold. Boyer says while he's enjoying not having to hear the loud crowds in the evening, he does feel sorry for those who work at Irish Mike's.
"While I'm completely enjoying the peace and quiet and no crowds, I do feel bad for the folks that work there. I mean they need to be employed and be paid," Boyer said. "So I do feel bad for them, but from a very selfish perspective, I'm enjoying this quiet," he said.
Boyer added that while he never felt unsafe, the bar's closure could be an improvement for the block.
"It was a little disturbing to hear about two people shot here one people shot here, someone else being stabbed. It was definitely concerning and I think it certainly didn't do anything for the reputation of this street which is pretty bad right now," Boyer said.
We did reach out to the owner of the bar, but he declined to speak with us until the hearing for his suspended license on Monday, Sept. 20.
