Gators Sports Bar & Grill

I'd like to meet:

EULESS -- See ya later, Gator's.The popular Gator's Sports Bar and Grill on Airport Freeway could close shortly after the Super Bowl game Sunday because of a dispute with the city."They're threatening to turn off our water on Monday, which is absolutely absurd," said Kevin McCann, Gator's general manager. "They're going to put 50 employees out of work."Deputy City Manager Loretta Getchell said the city has not sent any notices regarding a water shutoff."Obviously, if they choose not to close, we'd certainly look at our options, and that's one of the options we'd look at," she said.Settlement reachedThe bar's owner, Three New Millennium of Dallas, has to meet one of two conditions by 2 a.m. Monday as part of a court settlement -- remodel Gator's building and the attached hotel, which has been vacant since 2000, or split up the property's lots between the restaurant and hotel. The owners had done neither as of Friday, city officials said.Roger Albright, the attorney for Millennium, did not return phone calls.Millennium had wanted to remodel the blue-collar bar into an upscale Sports City Cafe but didn't have the money to renovate the hotel as the city wanted. City officials hope to revitalize the complex. The matter ended up in court in 2007. The city and the company settled in November.Tax revenueMcCann said he hopes the city will let the bar stay open while the company tries to sell the hotel, which he said has received bids from at least three hotel chains. McCann said Gator's generates more than $300,000 a year in tax revenue for Euless and provides a second income for many off-duty Euless police officers.But Getchell said the city expects Gator's to stand by the court agreement come Monday. If Gator's wants to pursue other options for the property, the owner would have to submit its request to the city like any other business, she said."We have an agreement through the courts that they will voluntarily close," she said. "We have no reason to believe they won't live up to that agreement."A manager at Gator's on Friday said he hasn't been told by his superiors that the bar is closing Monday. He sat and mingled in the bar with a few longtime patrons.As he played arcade games in the bar Friday, J.D. Davenport of Bedford said he's been a regular at Gator's for 12 years."I'm here quite a bit. Probably more than my wife prefers me to be," he said. "It's one of the first bars I came to when I moved here, but I'd probably save a lot of money if it closes."Gator's is also a nice spot to play pool or get a drink, Davenport said.McCann holds out a little optimism that city officials will show some leniency.
http://www.star-telegram.com/407/story/448631.html