Midtown Residents Blame Barwest For Increased Noise, Fights

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - A new bar moved into midtown Sacramento and some neighbors living nearby say the noise nuisance it's bringing in could force them out.

Sleep-deprived neighbors aren't pulling any punches. They're tired of late-night fights.

"Not sleeping very well," said neighbor Laurence Korass.

Korass loves living in midtown but he and his expecting wife might move out.

"There's been a lot of yelling, screaming, vomiting outside my apartment," said Korass.

He can't take the ruckus much longer.

"Over this last year, ever since Barwest came to be, things have gotten a lot worse," said Korass.

Neighbors argue the problem is an overabundance of bars on J Street between 26th and 28th Streets.

They complain the crowds have gotten out of control since Barwest opened a year ago.

And, Korass isn't the only one losing sleep.

"Sometimes they're arguing and sometimes they're just downright loud, like 'yeah let's do this and let's do that,' " said neighbor Ann McCandless.

Barwest says it's unfair to single them out.

"I think we might get blamed for that, but what's happened as we've come onto the block is a lot more businesses have become busy," said Brooke Tachibana, Barwest manager.

Managers say they have extra security on Friday and Saturday nights; and hire security to patrol the neighborhood, trying to keep things from getting out of hand.

While some neighbors clearly aren't satisfied, others say "Hey, it's midtown." With a bunch of bars, there's bound to be some trouble, and no one bar should be held responsible.

"I think it's kinda silly. You live two blocks from the bar and you're gonna complain about the bar?" said Barwest customer John Clark.

So what's Clark's solution to those complaining?

"I'd invite them to Natomas," said Clark.

The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control confirms they're looking into a recent complaint made against Barwest.

However, police haven't had many calls for service here, just four since February. The most recent came in May.