Trojan Tavern owner Von Ewing responded Wednesday to concerns shared at the Troy City Council meeting Tuesday that his business has a noise issue and has allowed a “street carnival” and “wild, wild West” atmosphere.

“I think everything is a little exaggerated,” Ewing said. “Everything is not as bad as it’s made out to be – this is no block party. And we don’t want loitering either. We and the City of Troy police have worked diligently the last three or four months to keep people from loitering.”

Allan Wood, owner downtown event venue Kendall Hall, addressed the council and the public in attendance Tuesday to share his concerns about noise and loitering at the bar.

“All we are asking of Von is understanding and mutual respect for your business neighbors,” Wood said at the meeting. “That’s all. We want you to be happy and successful, we want your guests to be happy and spend a lot of money with you. It truly does not have to be an adversarial relationship. We can all be successful.”

Ewing said he wants Trojan Tavern to be a good neighbor as well and said he is doing what he can to respect nearby business owners.

“We don’t want our neighbors to be mad,” Ewing said. “We haven’t had a band or DJ in the back. We haven’t used our Tiki bar to the fullest extent that we could, and that’s OK. We don’t want to have a dispute with our neighbors. We want to work with the people of Troy … We want to get along with everybody.”

Troy Police Chief Randall Barr said the department has cited Trojan Tavern for a violation of the city noise ordinance once.

Ewing said police have also been called down on a noise complaint numerous other times and found that the Tavern was following the ordinance.

“Every time they come, it’s not that loud,” Ewing said. “And it’s not like we’re turning the volume down; we don’t have a watch out. To be honest, it’s not like a ‘wild, wild West’ out there; there’s nobody fighting, nobody shooting. That’s what I think of when I think wild, wild West.”

There was a shooting near the Love Street bar earlier this year, but Ewing said that it was unrelated to his establishment.

Wood said he doesn’t want controversy or a fight; he related it to helping a friend when his zipper is down without his knowledge.

“I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I knew there was a problem and didn’t say anything about it,” Wood said.

Ewing said he has no issues with Wood and said he would like to discuss the matter personally with him.

“He has played live at the Tavern twice, but I haven’t met him,” Ewing said. “He has never personally reached out to me about this.”

The city ordinance regarding noise violations of businesses can be found in found in Sec. 14-7-b2 of the code of ordinances:

“It is hereby declared a nuisance and shall be unlawful to operate or play any radio, television, phonograph, musical instrument, or similar device which produces or reproduces sound, whether from a business or a residence, in such a manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of fifty (50) feet to any person in a commercial, residential, multi-family dwelling, or public place.”

 

A violation of the ordinance is punishable by a fine of up to $200.