On Saturday evening, a fight broke out between two people who were asked to leave O’Malley’s Bar & Grill, and an employee was stabbed according to Tucson police.
“It’s getting scary and every day I see something-- the Maverick last night, and O’Malley’s the day before,” said Frog and Firkin General Manager, Jonathan Graham.
Frog and Firkin is a popular restaurant and bar near the University of Arizona’s campus.
Last weekend, the business said it experienced more customers as more people were returning to campus to start school on Monday.
“It’s a very exciting time of the year with all of the kids coming back and there’s a new energy,” Graham said.
With new energy sometimes comes new liabilities.
“Before COVID happened, we’d have a Saturday afternoon, a DJ, and just would let everyone in but when there’s too many people, your servers can’t get through, you can’t get good service, the kids get drunk, they start fighting or whatever, so when COVID started happening we just kind of thought of a different way to do things,” said Graham.
Frog and Firkin said they try to focus on not overcrowding the bar and making sure there’s an open table or chair for every customer to avoid standing room only.
“You don’t have that huge influx all at once. It’s more controlled and a better environment,” Graham said.
Next door, Illegal Pete’s says it hires a third-party security company to help keep customers and staff safe during busier parts of the year.
“These security guards have been working for this third-party company for a long time so they know what they’re doing,” said Illegal Pete’s Bar Manager, Luciano Salas.
“They’re trained to look for fake IDs, trying to make sure guests aren’t overly intoxicated in the restaurant, and if it gets to that point, they’re more than trained to remove them from the situation,” said Salas.
With upcoming tailgates and viewing parties, Illegal Pete’s said the incident at O’Malley’s is a learning lesson for all bars in the area.
“I think it’s just like a lesson going forward just making sure that your bartenders and your staff are fully aware and trained to deal with these situations,” said Salas.
Tucson Police said they have not arrested a suspect yet and the investigation is ongoing.
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Faith Abercrombie is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before coming to KGUN, Faith worked as a videographer for the Phoenix Children's Hospital Foundation and as a reporter and producer on the youth suicide documentary, "Life is..." on Arizona PBS.
Share your story ideas with Faith by emailing faith.abercrombie@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
