Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
The beer, wine and liquor restaurant license for Mada Enterprises LLC, doing business as Barbee Hotel & Restaurant, 3620 N. Barbee Road, Warsaw, was renewed Thursday by the Kosciusko County Alcohol and Tobacco Commission for a year instead of the usual two years due to the number of law enforcement service calls to it.
In explaining the violation the Barbee Hotel received, owner Danny Signore said, “Excise officer came. I guess she got a call from one of the sheriff’s deputies, and she came and did an inspection. Everything is OK, but she wrote us a citation for public nuisance because of too many calls to the authorities, from what I read. Over a three-year period, she put down.”
Signore said he wasn’t there when the excise officer came, but he spoke to her. He was hoping she would give them just a warning, but “unfortunately I didn’t get one.” He said he knows that’s up to the officer’s discretion.
Excise officer April Tackett, who serves on the Kosciusko County ATC, said it was the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office that made the complaint. Signore said it was one KCSO officer who was upset he wouldn’t get access to the surveillance camera “in the a.m. time, which is under lock and key at that time. Employees don’t have access to it, which he got the next day.”
According to a copy of the four-page Indiana State Excise Police (ISEP) alcohol violation report, on Sept. 18 at approximately 2:30 p.m., ISEP officer Tiffany Leer began an investigation at Barbee Hotel & Restaurant and Danny’s Pizza & Sports Bar, both located at 3602 N. Barbee Road.
On Aug. 23, ISEP Sgt. Jesica Hyndman received a complaint from KCSO deputy Jacob Anderson, one of many responding officers to several altercations at permit premises in the county. One of the incidents occurred overnight at Danny’s Aug. 22-23.
The report states, “There was a large altercation at the premise where at least one individual was injured significantly, and several individuals were taken to jail. One female involved in the incident tested above a .2 BAC at the hospital. When the deputy spoke to Dan Signore ... he stated that the individual involved did not have any liquor at his business and came from Lake Life Bar and Grill down the street.”
The following day, the report states, “we received additional information from deputy Anderson that there were three more incidents down the road from Barbee Hotel/Danny’s Sports Bar that occurred at Lake Life Bar & Grill including two batteries where both suspects were in a heavy state of intoxication.”
At approximately 1:58 p.m. Aug. 26, Leer entered Danny’s Sports Bar and made contact with the female bartender. While Signore was not present at that time, and while the bartender was not on duty at the time of the incidents the past weekend, the bartender said she was there when it happened. The bartender explained the subjects didn’t drink and had only been there for a short time when they began fighting.
Later that evening, Signore contacted Leer and he said the suspects involved did not drink at his bar, but had all come from Lake Life Bar & Grill and he had already provided surveillance to the KCSO deputies.
The report lists three suspects who were arrested from the incidents and their charges.
On Sept. 9 and 17, Leer obtained local law enforcement calls for service records from Kosciusko County Dispatch to the premises’ location and related documentation.
Calls for service to the premises within the last two years included 2:58 a.m., Aug. 23, 2023, highly intoxicated man; 7:41 p.m. Sept. 20, 2023, suspicious person, very intoxicated; 9:30 p.m., Oct. 11, 2023, fight in progress; 2:11 a.m., April 7, 2024, impaired driver; 1:37 a.m. June 8, 2024, domestic complaint; 12:53 p.m., Nov. 28, 2024, battery; 4:11 p.m., Dec. 22, 2024, domestic complaint; 12:39 a.m., April 18, 2025, fight in progress; 9:49 p.m., June 19, 2025, juvenile complaint; 5:58 p.m. June 25, 2025, welfare check; 2:06 a.m. Aug. 23, 2025, fight in progress; and 3:02 a.m. Aug. 23, 2025, driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
On July 20, 2025, suspect Dustin Cloud was involved in a single-vehicle motorcycle accident where his passenger, Heather Hilabridle, was killed. The report, referring to an online news article, states Cloud had made stops at Lucky’s and Danny’s for drinks before heading to Rex’s and the crash occurred on the way there.
On Sept. 18, 2025, at about 12:06 p.m., Leer talked to another Barbee Hotel employee who said she had been working Aug. 23, 2025. The employee reported being bruised all over her body from a woman throwing chairs that night and the employee attempted to stop them.
After talking with the employee, Leer conducted a permit visit through the premises and detected the smell of burnt marijuana. The employee was told if patrons are going outside and smoking marijuana, that needed to be addressed or the cops called.
Leer also explained to the employee she was issuing a violation to the premise and it was a collection of issues that have happened over the past two years. The issues, according to the report, include a high volume of calls for service for law enforcement, including fights and domestics. Leer then issued a Notice of Violation against the alcohol permit for public nuisance.
On Sept. 19, 2025, Signore contacted Leer’s department cell phone and they discussed the violation. According to the report, Signore stated, in part, “I feel offended by getting this ticket.” “It’s really offensive because we, I really, I don’t really feel like we did anything wrong.” “Somebody probably told you to come and write me a ticket. That’s what I’m guessing. And it’s just my opinion, but I just wanna tell you that I feel it’s unfair.”
At Thursday’s ATC meeting, Tackett, Signore and the commission went through some of the report. Signore told them they decided they were going to start closing a little earlier in the summertime.
Tackett asked, “Do you think your establishment has a problem with serving to intoxication?”
“Absolutely not,” Signore stated, adding that with some people it’s difficult to tell if they’re intoxicated or not because they can hide it well but some can’t. He said the people they usually turn down are those coming from their homes or somewhere else “and you can see that they’re impaired. I don’t feel like we really have that many calls.”
Commission President Alan Alderfer asked Signore what security he had. Signore said they don’t have bands anymore, they just do karaoke at night.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s fine. It’s a sports bar; at night time for entertainment people like to sing. But it’s not like a night club. We really don’t have security. The girls are pretty good at diffusing any argument that may start. Unfortunately, that happens,” he said.
There are two security cameras on the outside of the building. He said most of his employees have been there six or more years. He paid the $1,000 fine.
Tackett eventually made a motion to renew the alcohol license for one year only.
“These permits renew every year, but they only come in front of the local board once every two,” she said. “Instead, I would like to make a motion to renew it for the year and make him come back so we can see what has or has not gone on in that year instead of waiting two.”
The motion passed 4-0.
