The six bars on the main strip of Highland Square will be back to their normal hours on Friday and Saturday night, a week after five shut down at midnight in what they called a “solidarity close” in response to a June 6 shooting on the block.
The late night shooting that wounded three people, reminiscent of a high profile-homicide in similar circumstances in October, was publicly blamed by city officials on people drawn to a Highland Tavern promotion.
At a press conference last Thursday, the city officials — including Akron Mayor Shammas Malik, Police Chief Brian Harding, Chief of Public Safety Craig Morgan, and Ward 1 City Council Member Fran WIlson — announced the five bars were closing early on June 12 and 13 and the “reckless” Highland Tavern chose not to.
Amid the fallout, Highland Tavern ultimately chose to shut down for the weekend.
A post on Facebook from Malik’s office on Thursday said that while “most bars will be open their normal hours” on June 19 and 20, “Highland Tavern has publicly shared they will temporarily stay closed on Fridays and Saturdays.”
But Highland Tavern’s owner, Jessica Williams, said the bar will be back in business this weekend.
“Well, we said ‘temporarily’ because we weren’t sure how temporarily,” Williams told Signal Akron on Thursday afternoon. “If everybody else is going to be open, we will be open the same.”
The other parts of the mayor’s Facebook post stated:
- The city-owned parking lot behind Chipotle will be chained closed at midnight. Cars already in the lot can still exit. The lot will be monitored — anyone gathering there may be arrested for trespassing. Vehicles still parked in the lot after 2:30 a.m. will be towed.
- The Walgreens parking lot at the corner of South Portage Path and West Market Street will close at midnight. Any cars parked in the lot after midnight will be towed.
- There will be a “continued law enforcement presence” in the area both nights.
