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Embattled Late-Night Bar Oasis Can Reopen, City Says

By Benjamin Woodard | November 13, 2014 12:45pm | Updated on November 13, 2014 4:22pm
 Oasis, a late-night bar on North Sheridan Road, was closed by the city late last week.
Oasis, a late-night bar on North Sheridan Road, was closed by the city late last week.
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DNAinfo/Benjamin Woodard

ROGERS PARK — Late-night bar Oasis, which was shuttered by city inspectors last week, was given the all-clear to reopen Thursday, the city said.

Department of Buildings spokeswoman Mimi Simon confirmed in an email Thursday afternoon that the bar could open.

Bar manager April Miller said inspectors showed up at the bar at 6809 N. Sheridan Road Thursday morning and after a quick re-inspection removed the "Emergency Vacate Order" that had been placed on the bar by Department of Buildings Commissioner Felicia Davis on Friday.

Davis alleged in the order two violations. The first "hazardous" condition listed was a "compromised" fire separation between the bar and the residential units above and a lack of a fire enclosure around the bar's heating unit. The second condition lists exposed wiring and extension cables above the drop-down ceiling.

The bar was targeted by the Department of Building's Strategic Task Force, which usually inspects businesses that are "subject of ongoing criminal activity, especially narcotics and gang activity," according to a spokeswoman for the department.

Police spokesman Martin Maloney said on Wednesday that the bar had nearly 20 calls for service in the past year, "including multiple calls involving disturbance, assault and battery." Maloney said additional calls at the bar included for a person with a knife and an arrest for reckless conduct.

Miller, the bar manager, denied any altercations occurred inside the bar.

"None of this happened in the bar," she said. "All of this happened outside the bar."

Miller said there was a man arrested for brandishing a knife on the sidewalk outside, but the man was not a customer. About a month ago, she said, another man was arrested for smashing one of the bar's windows from the outside after the bartender refused to serve him.

She also said her staff often calls 311 and 911 for loiterers on the sidewalk outside.

"Most of them were homeless guys who were harassing customers," she said.

Oasis will serve its first drinks — after nearly a week of being closed — at 3 p.m. Thursday when the bar opens.

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