City of Austin sues East 6th Street bar over criminal activity

City of Austin sues East 6th Street bar

The city of Austin is going after a bar on East Sixth Street for allegedly being a hub of habitual criminal activity and for failing to stop it.

AUSTIN, Texas - The city of Austin is going after a bar on East Sixth Street for allegedly being a hub of habitual criminal activity and for failing to stop it.

The city is calling for "Pour Choices" to close for one year. 

The backstory:

The city filed suit against Pour Choices. The bar sits on a corner lot in the entertainment district at East Sixth Street and Trinity Street.

The city claims habitual criminal activity is taking place there, involving assaults, underage drinking, drugs, and weapons violations. The suit also alleges the owner knowingly tolerates the illegal activity, has failed to stop it, and continues to operate in a way that attracts this behavior.

The City of Austin released this statement on the issue:

"The City filed a nuisance abatement lawsuit on January 12 and will provide further comment during court proceedings."

Dig deeper:

The Austin Police Department has responded to nearly 20 criminal offenses at Pour Choices since April 2024.

The court document details these instances. One example given was from October 2024, when a Pour Choices employee was inside a car that APD officers were investigating. The worker was caught making several trips to and from the bar while transporting about 110 individual doses of cocaine with a firearm in his possession. The employee was arrested for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

There are a few other examples involving workers punching or assaulting people while displaying signs of intoxication in the bar. Court records also state that many of these cases were not reported to the police by the owner or employees. The filing lists patterns of minors being served alcohol without being asked for ID.

What's next:

The city filed a motion that, if approved, would require the bar to take steps to combat crime there. 

The defendants have to respond to the city’s request within 50 days of service. However, Pour Choices says it has not yet been served.

The owner of Pour Choices, Brandon Burleson, sent this statement to FOX 7 Austin:

"No comment. We haven’t been served, and will defer all questions to our attorney, Casey Wallace out of Houston, Texas."