Dallas appeals board grants Kahlua Discotek one-year late‑hours exemption

The Permanent and License Appeal Board for the City of Dallas on May 15, 2025 reversed the Dallas Police Chief’s denial and granted Kahlua Discotek LLC a one‑year exemption from the locational restriction that would otherwise bar late hours for dance halls within 1,000 feet of a residential area.

The board’s decision came after testimony from the applicant’s owner, attorney and a Dallas Police Department detective. The board voted unanimously to overrule the denial and grant a one‑year exemption from the restriction in Dallas City Code Chapter 14.

The board’s staff read the ordinance criteria the board must apply in such appeals, including that the board may reverse the police chief only if the board finds the proposed late‑hours dance hall will not be detrimental to nearby property or public safety, will not downgrade adjacent property values or encourage blight, will not interfere with neighborhood conservation or urban renewal programs, and that all applicable provisions of Chapter 14 will be observed.

Saul Cardona, identified in the hearing as the owner and president of Kahlua Discotek LLC, testified that the business has operated at the same shopping‑center location for about 16 years, employs off‑duty Dallas Police officers for exterior security on busy nights, and uses private security inside. Cardona told the board the club operates Friday through Sunday and that allowing later closing would “sort of lessen chaos when people are leaving little by little instead of shutting off at 12:00 and everybody coming out at the same time.”

Detective Gerardo Monreal of the Dallas Police Department’s Vice Licensing Unit testified for the city and described his review of the application and police records. Monreal said the application was initially denied by operation of the city’s locational restriction because the property lies within 1,000 feet of a mobile‑home park, a residential area the code protects. “It is an automatic denial, only because it lies within a thousand feet,” Monreal said.

Monreal summarized calls for service and reports tied to the shopping center over the most recently reviewed year. He said the department logged 53 calls for service across the shopping center area but that many calls related to other businesses and duplicate reports. Monreal said Kahlua accounted for 10 calls overall, with 11 calls between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. in the year reviewed and four police reports generated during that late‑hours window; two reports were specifically assigned to Kahlua. Based on the data, Monreal testified there was no pattern of crime at Kahlua and that, apart from the locational restriction, he saw no police reason to deny the late‑hours permit.

Board members asked questions about visibility between the club and the trailer park, nearby topography and a creek that separates the sites, and whether Kahlua had received complaints from residents of the mobile‑home park. Cardona and Monreal both said the trailer park is not visible from the club and the club had not received recent complaints from the park. The record also reflects prior late‑hours permitting history: one‑year permits were granted in previous reviews (the parties referenced actions in 2023 and 2024), and the current application was the club’s request for a one‑year exemption; after three years of holding a late‑hours permit the applicant may seek a two‑year renewal under the board’s rules.

Board member Steven Hayes moved to overrule the police chief’s denial and grant a one‑year exemption; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously. The board instructed staff to circulate the resulting order and associated documentation to the parties by email and DocuSign. The hearing concluded at 9:04 a.m.

The board’s action applies only to Kahlua Discotek LLC’s request for a one‑year exemption from the city code’s locational restriction; no broader policy change was adopted during the hearing.