Patrons say Fort Myers bar has violent history, others disagree

Concerned patrons are speaking out after brawls continue to break out at a bar in Lee County. The most recent incident sent an officer to the hospital after he was knocked down and slammed his head on pavement. People who go to a neighboring establishment say this is nothing new.

The Fly Lounge off Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers is still open Friday night, but people who like to go to The Ranch, a concert hall next-door, want police to shut down the lounge.

“They shouldn’t have this here,” gene Burns said. “I’ve heard a lot, nothing but nasty horrible things there.”

The latest violent incidents include stolen gun and seizures in the lounge’s parking lot, which are adding to violence Gene Burns said the Fly Lounge is known for.

“Wednesday we had 200 kids here that were probably under 17 years old,” Burns said. “And that’s just not an environment for thugs and guns.”

Bar Manager Gabrianna Andrews at Fly Lounge said the bar is a safe place to work, and she said the bar is getting targeted for being a place minorities like to go.

“No matter where you go at a bar, there is a potential for there to be violence,” Andrews said. “There is not regularly fights here. It just so happens that whenever there is a fight, it loves to be publicized because I’ve seen just as many fights at the place next door, at the places downtown.”

Still, patrons like burns would rather see the Fly Lounge closed down.

“Eventually, there’s going to be something that’s going to happen with kids and then it will be too late,” Burns said.