by Shay Sokol

Big times and the tips that come with them are now a thing of the past at a Hollygrove bar. After a raid that shut down the Big Time Tips bar earlier this year, this week the Alcohol Beverage Control Board permanently revoked the bar’s liquor license for harboring drugs and criminals over the years. Since 2007, the bar, located at 8801 Edinburgh St., was the scene of four homicides, four accounts of aggravated battery involving shootings and stabbings, two armed robberies,  auto theft, and a drive-by, according to the City.

The most recent homicide in the bar occurred on December 12, 2011, when twenty-one shots rang out inside the bar, leaving 22-year-old Kalumba Cheneau dead.

In February, police and state alcohol agents raided the joint and arrested 15 people. Six people were arrest for violating their parole. Eight people were arrested for outstanding warrants. One man was arrested for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and marijuana. Additional numerous bags of marijuana were located throughout the bar. The bar was cited for 10 violations, as well as 2 violations observed by the State Police gaming division. After the raid, the state Alcohol and Tobacco Control suspended the bar’s liquor license for a year.

On May 15, 2012, after what the mayor's office described as three hours of testimony where residents of Hollygrove appeared before the ABC Board to voice their concerns about the bar and its negative impact on their lives, the Board permanently revoked Big Time Tips’ license.

A bar may be considered a nuisance if it is the site of violent incidents, noise, litter, and parking violations that interfere with neighbors’ quality of life.

“We are getting aggressive on nuisance bars,” said Mayor Mitch Landrieu in a press release.

The press release states: “In 2009, only 32 Alcohol Beverage Outlet prosecutions occurred. Due to a successful commitment to better enforce nuisance establishments, 287 prosecutions have occurred since the beginning of 2011.”