Omaha council schedules hearing on Crush Ultra Lounge liquor license after police reports

The Omaha City Council voted 6–1 to schedule a hearing to consider revoking the Class C liquor license for Crush Ultra Lounge, following a law committee recommendation and multiple police “tavern reports” alleging repeated disturbances, assaults and after-hours service at the downtown bar.

City Attorney’s Office attorney David Grama told the council the resolution was requested under Omaha City Code Section 15-303 and summarized the law committee’s referral, saying the record submitted with the resolution included multiple police and tavern reports dating from April through December 2024. He said the reports allege incidents including serving after hours, assault and battery, resisting and obstructing officers, and a reported shooting outside the premises.

Why it matters: Council members and police described repeated calls for police and fire response tied to the business, and said the pattern raised public-safety and neighborhood-quality concerns. The hearing will allow council members to review detailed evidence, hear testimony from the city and the licensee, and decide whether action against the license is warranted.

Several council members emphasized the process and the city’s prior efforts to work with the licensee. “The law committee and Omaha Police Department has done everything and bent over backwards to try and give these owners the opportunity to correct their ways,” Councilmember Lou Melton, chair of the law committee, said during debate. “Sometimes it’s the last resort.”

Councilmember Ben Begley, a law committee member, said the incident summaries show a continuing pattern. “It appears very clearly that the pattern of behavior has not been corrected,” Begley said. “That is why I’m looking forward to this passing today and having the hearing where Crush can come and present their side.”

Matt Coosy of the Law Department read the incident summary included in the resolution for the record. The resolution lists multiple dates (described in the packet as items A through P) with allegations that include open containers after hours, assaults and batteries, disturbances inside and outside the premises, a reported shooting outside the premises, felony assault and a reported stabbing and theft of a firearm on Dec. 21, 2024. Coosy characterized the list as the evidence the city would present at the hearing to justify considering license cancellation.

The council voted to set the hearing for Jan. 21 at 1:00 p.m.; the resolution will bring the licensee and the city’s evidence together in a quasi-judicial proceeding. Council members noted that if the hearing is set, the licensee will receive full advance notice and the tavern reports and other evidence will be provided to members prior to that hearing so councilors can review the materials and hear testimony.

Action and next steps: The council’s vote to set a hearing does not by itself suspend or revoke the license. If the hearing is held, both the city and Crush Ultra Lounge may present evidence; councilors will then vote on any proposed action following that proceeding.

Votes and attendance: The motion to set the hearing passed 6–1. The city law department and Omaha Police Department told the council they had forwarded tavern reports and will provide the full reports to council members before the hearing.