Pocono News Section

Troubled bar closes doors

Troubled bar closes doors - Thursday, October 25, 2007 at 5:07PM EST

Thursday, Oct 25, 2007 @05:07pm EST

A troubled Wilkes-Barre bar finally shuts it's doors.

For 70 years, the White House Cafe on Hazle Street has been a mainstay of the neighborhood.

But recently, it's been the site of violence, leading to this decision.

The white house cafe if officially closed.

That's good news to some here in this heights neighborhood in Wilkes-Barre.

Neighbor Tom Kelly says, "that was really getting extremely bad down there. Oh my god. I mean every time you turned around there was a fight or something going on down there."

4 shootings happened inside and outside the bar during the past 3 years.

In January 2006, a man was shot and killed.

And back in June, another man was died after being shot.

Some say the bars clientele was bringing the neighborhood down.

Valerie Chilcott of Wilkes-Barre says, “it makes me feel a little safer. This used to be like a family neighborhood when i was younger. Now it's kind of gone downhill."

The owners, Lou and Lisa Ruzzi of Bryn Mar were aware of the problems, and tried to help.

The owners said they did all they could do.

They installed surveillance camera's inside the bar, and asked for a stepped up police presence outside.

According to the owners, the city never put extra police around the bar.

But neighbors say that wouldn't have made a difference.

They say the closing will push the problem down the street.

Neighbor trisha kennedy says, "i think it's great. The only thing is, they're going to move from there, they're going to move over to the next bar. So it's not stopping anything."

Whether the closing will stop crime here on Hazle Street is yet to be seen.

For now, the lights are off, the doors are closed, and the white house cafe is no more.