Surveillance video showing juvenile fight at Crème Coffee House leads to new policy

OWENSBORO, Ky. (WFIE) - One Owensboro business is making some changes for Friday After 5 this week.

The Crème Coffee House will only allow minors into the building if they’re with an adult.

The change comes after a series of violence inside the business over the past two years, culminating with a fight that knocked one employee to the floor in July.

Crème Coffee House owner Brooklyn Patterson says anytime there’s been a disruption, it’s been caused by an unsupervised minor.

“All the kids were like yelling, there was cameras, so I knew what was going on,” Patterson said. “I ran back here, and me and my other employee were trying to break it up, and they ended up pushing her down. I was trying to not get hit.”

She says thankfully, her employee was pushed into a curtain, but nearly missed hitting her head on a sharp brick corner of the wall.

Patterson says this isn’t the first time unsupervised minors have taken advantage of her business keeping the doors open late during Friday After 5.

“Last year they were smoking back here, they were getting on our roof,” Patterson said. “My grandma was here one time and she was trying to tell them to leave because they weren’t buying anything, and it got real heated and he ended up smashing a drink on her head.

The fight happened last Friday, and was the final straw for Patterson.

“We’re going to be checking IDs or making sure you’re with an adult,” she said.

Keeping unsupervised kids out could put a strain on her business since Friday After 5 usually drives in more customers than any other time of the week, but Patterson wants to ensure her employee’s safety.

“I wanna give kids a safe space to be in, however, because it’s become non-safe, I’m making those changes,” said Patterson.

Patterson also says her business isn’t the only business being terrorized by juveniles.

She says several other businesses have had minors be disruptive during Friday After 5.

Patterson tells our crews that some businesses along the Owensboro riverfront close early on Fridays in the summer because the trouble isn’t worth the extra business.

Patterson says if checking IDs is ineffective, she has other ideas on how to keep unsupervised kids from terrorizing her business, such as adding a cover charge to get in.

She says that if it comes to a cover charge, that money would go towards your first drink, in order to not deter regular customers.

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