JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Weeks after News4JAX covered a late-night noise problem during car meetups at the Westside shopping plaza parking lot, a manager of one of the businesses is speaking out.
Josie Sakoo, manager of the Paxon Liquor Store and Lounge, said the situation is hard to control, adding, “I personally cannot control anything beyond my door.”
Last month, News4JAX aired three stories about late-night noise complaints from inside the Paxon Shopping Center parking lot on Edgewood Avenue.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Police have been called to a Westside parking lot nearly 100 times this year. Residents say the area remains a problem | News4JAX returned to a Westside parking lot at the center of nearly 100 police calls this year. Here’s what we found
The property owner told News4JAX he was not renewing the lease for the Paxon Liquor Store and Lounge because he grew tired of receiving noise complaints and felt the business was a magnet for the loud car meetups.
Previous video of our coverage can be watched below
On Tuesday night, the Paxon Liquor Store and Lounge manager spoke with News4JAX to explain why the business is as much of a victim of the car meetups, similar to nearby homeowners who have also complained to police.
When first reporting the noise complaints, News4JAX mentioned that the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office had been called nearly 100 times between January and October.
“That music you hear them complain about is not our music. It’s outside cars parked here. They have their own system in the car and it’s blasting the music,” Sakoo said.
When News4JAX filmed a loud late-night car meetup inside the Paxon Shopping Center parking lot, the only business open was the Paxon Liquor Store and Lounge.
Manager Josie Sakoo said her business was unfairly blamed for the noise and the number of complaints that led to police being called.
“Most of those calls come from myself, my staff or the security guards,” Sakoo said.
Sakoo says at times, the music outside has been so loud that it overpowers the music inside the lounge. She also said many of the young adults who meet up in the parking lot to blast their music and treat the area like an outdoor nightclub are not her customers.
“Our customers strictly come inside. They grew up with the place. Some of them are in their 50s, 60s, and 70s,” Sakoo said.
JSO told store management to ensure their customers stay inside and not gather on the sidewalk or in the parking lot.
But the manager said it can be hard to differentiate actual customers from people who simply come into the place to use the restroom. She also said she understands why nearby homeowners have been complaining.
“And we feel bad, but we just don’t know how to control it because we have no control over the parking lot,” Sakoo said.
The manager told News4JAX she is not sure what will happen to the business once their lease is up.
According to newly released 911 call information from JSO, officers were dispatched to the Paxon Shopping Center six times between Nov. 1 and Nov. 17. Four of those officer visits occurred late at night.
To put that into perspective, the third story we did on the parking lot problem was on Oct. 31.