To shut down Kelly's Pub, South Bend proposes to buy the violence-plagued bar

SOUTH BEND — The city of South Bend wants to shut down a pub on Mishawaka Avenue that's been the site of multiple shootings over the past several years by buying and demolishing the place.

City officials say that buying and closing Kelly's Pub, at 1150 E. Mishawaka Ave., would improve safety in the surrounding area near the South Bend Farmers Market and the Sunnymede neighborhood. A resolution to go before the South Bend Common Council on Monday lays out how the city wants to prevent more shootings like the one that occurred in January and set up the site for successful redevelopment.

The city plans to pay $275,000 for the site after city officials and concerned neighbors met with the pub's owner, Don Kelly, in December after another shooting. Two shootings have occurred at the site since January 2023 and police have been called there more than 60 times, according to South Bend police data. A mass shooting in 2019 led to one man's death.

Kelly, who has owned the bar for 18 years, said he's been interested in selling the place for the past few years.

"I'm at the age where I'm ready to retire," Kelly, who said he's 74, told The Tribune in a Thursday phone interview.

Joseph Molnar, a property development manager for the city, wrote in his proposal to the Common Council that the city would ensure a future owner better secures the property. Molnar adds that, as the city plans coming streetscape improvements on that stretch of Mishawaka Avenue, it would be convenient to have control of the Kelly's property.

Caleb Bauer, executive director of the Department of Community Investment, said he's not necessarily against another bar opening its doors at the site.

"There are lots of bars in the city that are additive and beneficial to the neighborhoods in which they're located, so I don't want to impugn that entire important sector of commercial and retail activity," Bauer told The Tribune in a Friday phone call.

"But, certainly, we don't want to see the continuation of a business that's having a negative impact on the overall neighborhood."

The city doesn't yet have any potential buyers in mind, he said. But he's confident the site is primed for redevelopment given that multiple new businesses have sprung up nearby over the past five years, including Cloud Walking Café, Oh Mamma's On the Avenue cheese shop and deli, and Ironhand Wine Bar.

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Owner makes racist remark about violence outside his bar

Kelly, a South Bend native, said he's been in the business of managing a bar since 1979.

He doesn't blame lax management inside the pub for the repeated shootings at the site. He blames the people who gather out in the parking lot, beyond his staff's direct supervision.

A mass shooting in June 2019 outside of Kelly's Pub killed a 27-year-old Niles man and injured about 10 others. Close to 100 people gathered in the parking lot around 1:30 a.m. at what police called a "crazy scene." The bar lists its closing time around 3 a.m.

"Things like that you can't even foresee," Kelly said.

Asked why he believed his property had been the source of chronic public safety issues, Kelly gave this explanation to a Tribune reporter Thursday.

"It's a Black thing," Kelly said. "Not much you can do about it. For some reason, Blacks shoot Blacks, and nothing you can do about it, I guess, until you can make them stop carrying guns."

The idea that Black people are predisposed to violence is a racist myth.

According to the Alliance for Gun Responsibility, a nonprofit advocacy organization working to curb gun violence in the U.S., while Black people do bear the brunt of gun violence in the U.S. — dying by gunfire at about 10 times the rate of white Americans — it's because centuries of racist policies and disinvestment have made Black people more likely to live in poverty than white people.

Data shows a clear link between rates of poverty and violent crime, and Black and white people living in poverty offend at similar rates. An October 2017 special report by the U.S. Department of Justice showed that, in general, white people commit crimes against other white people at about the same rates.

Asked to respond to Kelly's comment, Bauer said the city disavows the bar owner's beliefs.

"For a business owner to absolve themselves of responsibility for all activity that's occurred on the premises of their business is really disappointing," Bauer said.

Bars that stay open late must deal with spillover public safety issues that don't necessarily involve their own patrons, Bauer said. Others in town accomplish that through an enhanced security presence and a willingness to address neighbors' concerns.

Bauer said the city still intends to buy Kelly's Pub.

"Purchasing the bar does not mean that we are endorsing the view of the property owner," Bauer said, "and I believe this is a fair price for the property."

Asked whether South Bend Mayor James Mueller wanted to respond to Kelly's remark, a city spokeswoman sent The Tribune a statement.

"The City is purchasing this property at fair market value to build on the growing vibrancy of the Market District and maximize the impact of upcoming infrastructure improvements in the area. The current property owner does not speak for the City or the Mayor," the statement reads.

"A focus on his comments, however concerning, is a distraction from this major win for the neighborhood and South Bend.”

The resolution to be heard Monday would declare the Common Council's interest in the property and authorize the Board of Public Works to buy it. The Board of Public Works plans to vote on a resolution on Tuesday to authorize the purchase.

Email South Bend Tribune city reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @jordantsmith09

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend to buy Kelly's Pub on Mishawaka Avenue