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Tiki bar's fun becomes neighbors' headache

Oldsmar residents complain of noise, trash and overflowing parking at Jack Willie's, but the owner says he's tried to fix the problems.

By NICOLE JOHNSON
Published May 16, 2005

OLDSMAR - Jack Willie's is a lot like a jacaranda.

It comes alive in the spring. Tends to draw attention. And neighbors don't like the litter.

But there's nothing pretty about being awakened at 2 a.m. by the vrooming engines of a half-dozen Harleys, said Margo Perrego, who lives on Phoenix Avenue.

Moccasin Creek separates the back yard of the Perregos' home and Jack Willie's Original Tiki Bar and Grill at 1011 St. Petersburg Drive.

"It's like they're racing across the bridge," said Perrego, 53, who has lived in the house for a year with her husband, Dave. "I feel sorry for the people who live on the same side as that place."

Perrego and seven other residents in the area have come before the Oldsmar City Council in the last two months complaining about noise, litter and parking problems at Jack Willie's.

The residents say that often the live entertainment wakes them at night. Others complain about the litter along St. Petersburg Drive and patrons leaving the establishment intoxicated, some on motorcycles.

Owner Don Alvino said he has seen the problem before. He said he has told residents to call if the bar is rocking too loud. Still, Alvino said, every year as the weather gets warmer, the crowd picks up, and so do the complaints.

"At the beginning of our busy season this sort of thing comes up," said Alvino, who took ownership of the Oldsmar mainstay three years ago. "For the last few years around April and May it starts."

In June 2003, the parking problem came to a head because despite Alvino's instituting a valet service, patrons still parked their cars along St. Petersburg Drive.

An angry resident sent a letter to the City Council complaining about the parked cars lining both sides of St. Petersburg Drive. In July of that year, the city threatened to issue citations if Alvino didn't add more parking spaces.

Alvino said he has tried to fix the problems.

He recently purchased a parking lot with 75 to 100 spaces just down the street from the bar, he said. And he says he has lost performers because he forces them to keep their volume low.

"We've cut some bands down to two- and three-piece bands to keep the sound down," he said. "And we don't go later than 11 p.m. with live entertainment." There is no live music on Mondays, he said.

"We've also tried to switch the focus by adding some excellent food," said the Chicago native, who has lived in Oldsmar since 1990.

Alvino, who owned and operated the Waukegan Pizza Co. for several years, sees himself and the establishment as a friendly neighbor.

"We're doing well, we're providing 90 jobs for the community," he said. "I just want to get along."

Despite what Alvino calls mostly seasonal complaints, there have been problems at the bar other times of the year as well.

In the last six months, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office has filed 35 incident reports about things that happened at Jack Willie's, including a vehicle burglary in January.

Sheriff's spokesman Mac McMullen called the incidents "pretty routine," though records show complaints about noise.

That means the city's Technical Review Committee will look at the issue, said John Bishop, city engineer. The bar has not been issued with a citation this year, he said.

"We'll discuss the issues of noise, trash, parking and restricting parking in residential areas and violations of the current structure dealing with occupancy," said Bishop.

The committee is scheduled to discuss the issue today.

"What we don't want to do is restrict parking in one area and cause a problem in another area," Bishop said.

With news that the city would consider the issue, Alvino said,"I will do everything in my power to be a good neighbor."

[Last modified May 16, 2005, 01:11:15]