Judge orders new operating rules for downtown club

SoBro Sports Grill, the downtown club formerly known as Luau Louie’s Hula Hut, will have some new rules after a judge ruled on several motions filed by the club’s owner, Jody Browne.

 

The new regulations come after Luau Louie’s was padlocked [1] for being a public nuisance in September. Metro Nashville Police Department reported that the club received 405 calls for police service over an 11-month span. The club opened under new rules, including an under-21 ban, briefly, then closed again in November.

 

Browne’s attorney, Mark Scruggs, said the owners believe the club is being held to unfair standards.

 

“They still feel like they are being treated unfairly and that the judge is being a little too restrictive,” Scruggs said. “This is what they’ll work with, but I don’t know if they can make a living.” The new rules include:

• Last call for food and drinks will be 1:45 a.m. The doors need to be closed at 2 a.m. and locked by 2:30 a.m. The standard time for bars and clubs in Nashville is 3 a.m.
• Outside music has to stop at midnight. Scruggs said SoBro won’t feature any outside music.
• The judge ordered that the club would have to disallow and kick out underage patrons at 10 p.m. The club said they have instituted new technology to scan driver’s licenses and print out wristbands with age information on them to curb underage drinking. Previously, club security was scrutinized for selling over-priced wristbands to teenagers.