No so rough and tumble

At 11 p.m. Saturday, Mojo's was just getting started. Bouncers outside the popular night spot on North Sacramento Street were checking IDs and taking the $5 cover charge from young partiers, most of whom were under 25 years old.

A police car also kept a close watch on the establishment from an alley across the street.

Police have had 20 calls for service at Mojo's this year. The latest incident was a fight on April 1 that resulted in the bar closing before its 1 a.m. final call. The California Alcohol Beverage Control is considering suspending Mojo's liquor license for violations in 2005.

Since the last incident, the owners have taken steps to improve security and police have not reported any problems with the bar.

On Saturday night, Mojo's wasn't as rough and tumble as Lodi police has said it has been. It was mostly just a meat market where 20-somethings could get drunk and bump and grind. Some people got a little too drunk, but no one got into a fight, even though there was professional fighter in the bar.

By 11:30 p.m., about 70 people had begun to fill the bar, still well short of the maximum limit of 121. Bar staff, who could not be quoted by name according to company policy, said the crowds have tapered off since the last bar fight, in which three people were arrested.

Between four and five bouncers work weekend nights, owner Maureen Williams said Monday. She said she has had meetings recently with her staff and Lodi police to address security issues.

"My security team is doing a good job," she said. "They try to catch problems at the door."

Mojo's, which styles itself as a hip dance club, is one of most popular places in town for young people, and there was only one person who looked older than 30 in the growing crowd.

A 50-year-old man named Stan, who, like most bar-goers, only gave his first name, said he was not put off by the younger crowd and enjoyed the youthful environment. He said he hangs out at Mojo's a couple of times a year.

"It was either come here or watch 'The King and I' at Hutchins Street Square," he said.

A Lodi police car sits across the street from MoJo's on Saturday night. (Whitney Ramirez/News-Sentinel)

At midnight, about 100 people packed the club. Most sat at tables or crowded around the bar, but some started venturing out onto the dance floor.

A DJ was spinning hip-hop and dance music as women in low-cut halter tops and short skirts tried to entice men in dark, collared shirts to the dance floor lit with colorful flashing lights. The crowd was about 60 percent women.

Out back behind the bar in a drizzling rain, a handful of people huddled under a tarp smoking cigarettes. A guy named Dean, who said he used to work security at the club, said Mojo's is usually more crowded, but the rain had kept some people away. He said business picks up in the summer when college students return home and young people like to party after a day of boating on the Delta.

"In the summer, people are coming off the water and want to let loose and go 'yah!'" he said as he lit a cigarette for a short brunette in a tight tube top. "At least that's what I do."

Back on the dance floor, things started to pick up at 12:30 a.m. Couples gyrated close together and danced back to front, doing the same kind of so-called "bump-and-grind" that was banned from dances at Lodi high schools.

Drinks were being consumed at a rapid rate — draft beers and mixed drinks were both popular — and empty glasses and bottles littered the tables. Someone who couldn't hold their liquor threw up in the hallway leading to the restrooms, and the bar staff was busy cleaning the floor with a hose from the outside smoking area.

"Someone didn't make it," Dean said laughing.

The only fighting that went on that night was on the television above the bar, which was showing the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The Spike TV network reality show follows around martial artists as they train and pits them together in an octagon-shaped cage as they beat each other bloody.

One of the contestants on the screen was Nate Diaz, 22, a fighter from Morada. The cameras caught him before his bout writing on the wall of the house the contestants share on the show "Stockton," "Lodi" and "209," in reference to the area code.

Seeing this, a group of men watching the TV cheered and yelled, "Lodi! Diaz!" It was Diaz and his entourage of about six friends.

Mojo's at a glance

• Location: 114 N. Stockton St.
• Opened: February 2004.
• Owner: Todd and Maureen Williams.
• Entertainment: Dance floor, karaoke on Tuesdays.
• Drinks: Well-stocked bar, draft beers.
• Cover charge: Only on weekends.
— News-Sentinel staff.

One of the friends said the group often hangs out at Mojo's but isn't responsible for the fights that have occasionally spilled out onto North Sacramento Street.

Lt. Bill Barry said police were aware of incidents at Mojo's but added that they have not stepped up patrols outside the bar. He said the patrol car usually sits in front of the bar for about 20 minutes at a time on the weekend then moves on to other bars. He said the police have been closely watching other bars in the area.

Barry said police are just being proactive.

"The beat officers know where the problems are," he said. "They keep an eye on the place. It's a good way to keep the fights from starting."

Lt. Virgil Monroe, who has dealt with problems at Mojo's, met with the owners after the fight three weeks ago to discuss safety concerns. He said police have not been called to the bar since the discussion.

"The owners were cooperative," he said. "They have the same goals to make it a safe environment."

Just before the last call at 1 a.m., the dance floor was packed with revelers. The floor was wet with spilled drinks. A 25-year-old named Sierra slipped and fell, but it may have been due more to the drinks she had consumed than the drinks on the floor.

"The floor is disgusting," she said. "I could have been hurt."

She quickly added, "It's not usually like this."

Sierra said she comes to Mojo's every other weekend. In the last few weeks, she has noticed an increase in security. She said she used to walk in without being carded, but she now has to show ID every time.

"I love it here," she said. "This is the only cool place in Lodi. They play cool music and you can dance. Sure people get drunk and fight and do stupid things. But fights happen everywhere."

Contact reporter Matt Brown at mattb@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

Creative DJs wrote on May 1, 2007 3:51 PM:

" Boomer - I agree with you 100%. I believe an error made when that story was printed in the paper. There was not a brawl, but two seperate incidents 10 minutes apart, that had nothing to do with each other. And the second one that the police were refering to as a fight was actually an individual being removed by the bouncers for groping women after I pointed him out. The bouncers were maintaing a "safe enviroment" that Lodi PD claims is not there. "

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