Omaha council sets hearing on possible revocation of Crush Ultra Lounge liquor license after police reports

The Omaha City Council voted to schedule a hearing to determine whether the liquor license for Crush Ultra Lounge should be canceled, after the law committee and city attorneys cited a pattern of police and tavern reports alleging late-night disturbances and violence.

City Attorney’s Office attorney David Grama told the council the resolution was requested under Omaha city code “pursuant to Omaha city code section fifteen-thirty 3” and that the law committee had received “a number of different police reports, tavern reports, 16 to be exact” covering incidents from April through December 2024. Grama said the reports included allegations such as serving after hours, assault and battery, and other disturbances and that the police department “has expressed” concerns for public safety in the area.

Councilmembers who serve on the law committee described several steps the committee and police had taken before bringing the resolution. Councilmember Melton, chair of the law committee, said the committee and the Omaha Police Department “have done everything and bent over backwards to try and give these owners the opportunity to correct their ways,” and that repeated disturbances were consuming substantial public-safety resources, including multiple police and fire responses.

Councilmember Begley, a law committee member, described the pattern as worsened under the current ownership and said the committee was moving forward to give the establishment and the city an opportunity to present evidence at a formal hearing. Matt Coosy of the Law Department read the incidents that the resolution lists, including dates and alleged offenses: open containers after hours and disorderly conduct (April 13, 2024); assault and battery and disturbances (April 22, 2024); multiple incidents in September and October 2024 including a reported shooting outside the premises (Sept. 29) and a Dec. 21 report including a felony assault, a stabbing and theft of a firearm.

Councilmembers stressed that the council’s vote scheduled a hearing to provide due process rather than to take immediate action on the license. Grama and other councilmembers said the tavern reports underlying the resolution would be provided to members and to the licensee ahead of the hearing. The council voted to set the hearing for January 21 at 1:00 p.m. if the resolution passed.

The council vote to set the hearing passed 6–1. The motion’s roll call was recorded as passing 6 to 1; individual roll-call votes were not all mapped to names in the record provided to the public clip where the tally was announced.

A hearing, if held, will allow the city to present its evidence and give the licensee an opportunity to present a defense before the council takes any final action on the license.

Ending — The hearing date set by the council will bring formal, evidentiary consideration of the city’s allegations. If the council’s action follows the process described by staff, council members will receive the tavern reports and other evidence before the hearing and will vote only after hearing testimony from both sides.