Despite being issued a notice to quit and vacate their illegally occupied government-owned Estate Enighed property, the occupants of a small bar on Circle Road have not only been open for business, they’ve spruced the place up and even threw a party last weekend.
The occupants of the blue and white building, the site of a late December, 2007 gunfight, recently put a fresh coat of paint on the small, wooden building and set up tables and chairs in front of the establishment.
A full bar has been stocked and workers have been serving patrons until the wee hours of the night.
The only problem is that the building occupants do not have a lease for the government-owned property, according to Halvor Hart, Property and Procurement’s Division of Property Deputy Commissioner.
The building came under scrutiny after an early morning shootout on December 28, 2007, which broke up a high-stakes card game and landed two men in the hospital. Following the bloodshed, on Friday, January 11, Hart issued the establishment a notice to quit and vacate the premises.
That notice expired on Monday, February 11, with no action on the part of the illegal occupants. Now the matter will be taken up in district court, Hart explained.
“The government doesn’t have the right to walk in and throw them out physically,” said Hart. “Since they didn’t abide by the notice to quit and vacate, we must go through the court. We will now seek a forcible entry and detainer from the court.”
“We will file our complaint with the Justice Department and take the matter to court,” Hart continued. “The whole matter shouldn’t take more than 30 days.”