Well I've lived 1 block away from the Bella Rosa for 5 years, but first visited it before that when we used to visit my husband's grandpop for Sunday dinner. It was OK back then, still a little shady but we felt safe getting a beer. That hasn't been the case since we married and moved into his grandfather's house. It's such a shame b/c 1) it's sooo close and 2) it's a cute little bar with pool tables for my husband and a Mega Touch for me.

The last time we were in there (sometime shortly after we moved in) we were having a good time, a little tuned up and friendly with the bar tender UNTIL she asked me if I liked to "party". Well, I guess I'm pretty naive but I just looked at her with this "Yeah, of course I do , what do you think I'm doing here drinking?" look on my face. It had to be explained to me by my husband that she was either trying to sell me coke or just get me to do it. I felt so disgusting and never returned except to buy the occasional six pack TO GO.

I think now is the time that all of us drug-free neighborhood partiers should stake our claim to what could really be a cool corner bar. The dealers are behind bars (for at least 9 yrs according to what I've read) and I really doubt the druggie scumbags who bought stuff there will be back anytime soon. This our time to create the new "regular" base. Let's take it back...Let's take it OVER!!!!

I made a point to never give that place my money in the 6 years I have lived on the same block as it. Hell, I could easily crawl home from there and have never had a drink there or taken out beer. If it truly became a neighborhood bar where people normally walk to it, I would be okay with it. But, since so many cokeheads from Jersey would come there to score, it made my block even worse than it normally is for parking. People would park in the middle of the street to run in and score so no one could make the turn onto Watkins. The owner turned a blind eye to everything that was happening there and it disgusts me. As long as the same guy owns it, they will never get dime one from me.

However, I feel good just knowing it won't be going on there anymore. Maybe the owner really didn't know (hightly doubt it, but he was NEVER in there), maybe he was cooperating with the investigation. Maybe he was getting a kickback - this I highly doubt also. They've been watching this place for years and knew all the prime players. If the owner was involved I'm sure he would've been arrested and the place shut down. I've seen it happen elsewhere.

And just maybe the owner felt threatened and scared like SO many of us in the neighborhood who didn't do anything about it. Did you? Ever file a report? I didn't, they scared me.

Anyways, I have no problem going there for a beer now. To each their own!

BTW- I am from Jersey and have never even seen coke accept on TV!

The owner is there pretty often although usually in the afternoon, there is no way he didn't know what was going on. He bought the bar from an ex-con who had the liquor license in his wife's name. I don't necessarily think he was getting kickbacks, but I do think it was good for his business.

As far as doing something about it and being scared. Yes, I would be scared to have those guys after me. My wife was at the council meeting when the new owner bought it, I was in class. I spoke to the people from the civic association about the bar and the problems it caused. I have no legal standing to prevent anyone from going to the bar on the corner of my block. He, however, had the ability with law enforcement behind him, to prevent those guys from dealing in his bar. He wasn't to scared to fire shots (outside on 10th street) at a guy he caught robbing his bar one morning.

Out with the old and in with the new and it could start seeing some of my money.

I don't think it could've been that good for business - the users rarely spent their money on anything other than drugs.

is this place strictly a bar, or do they have a menu as well? I was assuming that it's a pizza place w/a bar. Is that the case?

There were a lot of people that hung there with/for the dealers, did their partying (of both varieties) there, smoked their blunts on the sidewalk, etc. Alcohol and coke go hand in hand.

We'll see this weekend, the first after the busts, and see how his business is. I believe it was you who said that instead of the bar being full it is now near empty. I honestly doubt all of those people that were always there were just taking advantage of kiddie cups of complimentary water.

Their kitchen has a window on Watkins that I walk by several times a day. Although they are open on sundays, I have not seen that kitchen open or anyone in it in nearly a year. Hell, the dealers would get sandwiches from LaBella's across the street. The most recent proprietors of Labella's are probably bummed that they are losing out on all of the cigarette and sandwich money.

You're referencing a different thread. In that thread I was responding to the question of if they were still open. To which I responded yes with the implication that most people assumed it was shut down. I highly doubt there will be much business the first weekend after a bust like this. It's going to take a while for people to feel comfortable going there.

Maybe I'll take it upon myself to posse up a large group and show the rest of the neighborhood that we can have clean fun there!

Nope, no food (despite the name of "Bar and Grill). On occasion they may have soup or something up front brought in by one of the long-time bartenders, but nothing from the kitchen. I think the main intension of the kitchen was for banquet / party hosting because the new owner spent a lot of money to fix up the upstairs which is a decent size room.