FARGO - A couple of weeks ago, Greg Danz and several other downtown denizens complained to city leaders about the growing number of bars in the area - and the public drunkenness and fights that come with those establishments.

The City Commission was mulling a liquor license for a new bar, and the protesters wanted the city to first hold existing bars accountable.

"We've got 27 years of history of no action being taken against these license holders," Danz, owner of Zandbroz Variety, 420 Broadway, said April 9. He said he's asked for licenses to be suspended or revoked, but the liquor board wouldn't do it.

"I'm the chairman of the Liquor Control Board, and I'm telling you we can do stuff to make them toe the line," Commissioner Dave Piepkorn promised. "We haven't in the past, but we can."

But that could be the wrong solution.

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Lt. Christopher Helmick, who oversees an area that includes the downtown beat, said downtown bars are cooperating with Fargo Police.

"Things have gotten better over the last year, two years where we don't have one particular bar that really is causing the problem," he said.

The issue instead is that there are a lot of bars that can attract a lot of people who drink, he said. When people drink, they can get aggressive.

"It never ceases to amaze me that people may start out at the beginning of the night looking to have a good time but by the end of the night they're looking to start a fight," Helmick said.

While statistics cited by police show downtown takes up more of their resources, a closer look shows some improvement. The number of incidents that police on the downtown beat were dispatched to over the past three years grew slower than the rest of the city, and the number of dispatches for assaults over the past five years in the downtown core has shrunk at a faster rate than the city as a whole.

'Very unsafe'

For police, there are two distinct downtown populations that have a problem with drinking. Each requires a different approach.

Those with addiction problems can lead to public drunkenness throughout the week, according to Helmick. Officers often know them by name and work with social service agencies to get them help.

The much larger problem is weekend revelers starting fights at the end of the night. There are many more of these people and they can turn a crowd belligerent, potentially posing a threat to the relatively small number of officers.

The intensity of problems caused by this population is what makes them a special concern.

"It's only for, really for a few hours on a Friday and Saturday night, but it requires a lot more manpower than we're putting towards the problems we see during the weekday," Helmick said. It can be "nerve-wracking" when six to eight officers have to handle a crowd of hundreds, he said.

At the April 9 meeting, the late-night crowd seemed to be a special concern for downtown business owners and residents. While the discussion was about Cowboy Jack's, 506 Broadway N., seeking a liquor license, there was a lot of talk of the nearby Empire and Bismarck taverns located at 424 Broadway N. and 522 Broadway N., respectively.

Other downtown bars, such as the Old Broadway, 22 Broadway N., and Fort Noks, 52 Broadway N., also came up.

These are the bars protesters were afraid Cowboy Jack's could become.

"It's rare that I go toward the Bismarck or the Empire because that whole environment is poor - poor in terms of dangerous," said Deb Dawson, who lives in a downtown condo.

Another bar like those two could make the area "very unsafe," she said, especially late at night.

Josie Danz, Greg Danz's daughter and manager of Zandbroz, said police are frequently dispatched to the area around the Empire and Bismarck but also Old Broadway and Fort Noks.

Getting better

According to Red River Regional Dispatch Center logs, assault reports sent officers to the block with the OB and Fort Noks 60 times over the past five years. Police say assaults downtown are closely linked to drinking.

Reports of assaults sent officers to the block with the Empire 50 times - one of the highest tallies of any block without a medical center, jail or police station where victims might report assaults.

Helmick said the bars named aren't necessarily the ones causing problems because callers often reference them as landmarks.

Two blocks had 40 assault dispatches, including the block with Dempsey's Public House, 226 Broadway N., as well as the stretch with Rooters Bar, 107 Broadway N., and the HoDo, 101 Broadway N.

Citywide, there were 4,000 dispatches for assault over the past five years. Of these, about an eighth happened at downtown addresses between the Civic Center and Roberts Street North, where most bars are.

But things are getting better in that core area.

Between 2013 and 2017, the number of assault dispatches dropped 18 percent in the downtown core for a total of 90, even as the city saw an 8 percent increase for a total of 820.

The Empire block saw a decrease of 60 percent for a total of four. The Dempsey's block and the Rooters block were each down 55 percent for a total of five. The OB block was down 52 percent for a total of 10.

Police have also complained of more dispatches downtown requiring more manpower. Some, such as impaired person calls and disturbances, may be linked to drinking. But most of the others, such as panhandling or suspicious activities, aren't necessarily linked, according to Helmick.

The number of impaired-person dispatches fell 10 percent citywide but only 6 percent in the downtown core. The number of disturbance dispatches grew 50 percent citywide but only 37 percent in the core. The highest concentration of these incidents downtown are in familiar blocks such as the Empire, Dempsey's, OB and Rooters blocks.

Bars help out

Downtown bars have been part of the solution, according to Helmick.

OB staff, for example, help manage crowds after bar close and his officers feel like the bouncers have their backs, he said. The Empire, too, has managed the area around the bar, he said.

The Forum called Jim Swanick, owner of the Empire and Bismarck, but didn't hear back.

Randy Thorson, an owner of Old Broadway and other downtown establishments, said his bars do a number of things that others don't. Staff tries to separate people who might be starting a fight in the establishments rather than kicking everyone out to settle their differences on the streets, he said. His staff also maintains a list of troublemakers not allowed in their bars.

"Once word got out, it really helps," he said. "Their friends know about this and they help to control their buddies not to get into these arguments or disagreements or disorderly conduct."

He said he's also deemphasized alcohol by selling more food at his establishments, many of which are primarily restaurants. It's bad business to rely too much on alcohol sales, he said, because there's no way to differentiate one bar from another except with low prices.

Helmick said bars and police often have the same goals and, even when they don't, he said he feels like he can talk to owners to get help.

Complaints by downtown residents and business owners have prompted changes at one establishment before it's even opened. City Auditor Steve Sprague on Monday, April 23, told city leaders mulling a liquor license for the forthcoming downtown location of Kilstone Brewing, 222 Broadway N., that its owners decided to serve more food to address concerns.

Like the Cowboy Jack's liquor license, this one was met with concern by Police Chief David Todd because it would be very close to other bars. City leaders approved the license for both.

Concentration

Despite the progress, downtown bars are still seen as a problem. "It is not just one or two bars that are causing the problem," Josie Danz said. "It is all 53 licenses are contributing to overconsumption."

By her count, Kilstone Brewing was the 53rd liquor license downtown.

Danz said she recognizes there have been improvements and gave much credit to police. But she said it's still concerning that that police have complained about being stretched thin on weekends.

Helmick said it's not up to police to say if there are too many bars, but it's logical to think that more bars will attract more people and more troublemakers.

Police are working to add four more officers for a total of 15 downtown, but there's a question of how much will be enough.

What makes downtown bars different than elsewhere in the city is the concentration of establishments in a small area, according to Helmick. In an after-bar crowd, some people want to start fights, and there could be more people who join in when there are fights and people trying to egg others on.

"The more people you put downtown," Helmick said, "the more problems come as a percentage of that."