Glenwood South businesses frustrated over weekend chaos: 'Do not care'
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Several small business owners on or around Glenwood South are frustrated by the chaos that erupted this past weekend.
Flour and Barrel Restaurant sits two blocks away from Glenwood South. Owner Anthony Rapillo heard shots being fired on Saturday and saw people running from the entertainment district.
"They kind of come running, a lot of cars were parked up this way," said Rapillo. "People (were) scrambling. You want to make sure you and your staff are safe."
Rapillo said he believes there are too many absentee bar owners.
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"That do not care. The money gets printed. They'll change the name every 12 months," said Rapillo. "You can tell that there are certain hospitality business owners that care about the work that they're doing, and there's other people that don't."
Rapillo is also raising questions about hired security teams at some establishments.
"These police officers -- it's not their job to check IDs. It's not their job to let underage people in. It's not their job to continue serving alcohol at 12:01 ... 2:10 in the morning," said Rapillo. "I know for a fact that that is what happens up the block, and when that happens in multiple establishments, it's just going to draw a certain crowd."
Other restaurateurs are pushing for a curfew following what police call a "teen takeover."
"None of these bars let anyone in under 18 anyways. They shouldn't let anyone in under 21. Let's put a curfew out there. Let's stop this right now," said Dirty V's co-owner Carey Kidd. "It's really disheartening to see, you know, troublemakers coming out and just ruining what small businesses are doing to try and contribute to society."
Dirty V's co-owner Leila Kidd said patrons have spoken up.
"We've heard feedback from a lot of our customers, families specifically, that they don't want to come out on the weekends if it's approaching dark because they don't know what it's going to be like when they leave," she said.
Raleigh Police have not said where the incident started.
Milk Bar issued a lengthy post on social media following the incident, saying in part, "While we had zero safety incidents inside Milk Bar - we made the proactive decision alongside other businesses to close our doors -- to protect our patrons and staff from the surrounding unrest ... gun violence and reckless behavior have no place in our nightlife scene."
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