A business owner believes a city council member treated him and his business unfairly. The Eleve Hookah Lounge downtown in the Depot District said city councilman Jeff Griffith showed up at the business and criticized the way they operate it. And now video of the incident is viewed more than 18,000 times.
An employee at Eleve Hookah Lounge shot a video over the weekend and posted it on Facebook. It shows Griffith talking with police. After being viewed thousands of time, the Lubbock Police Department released a statement on the incident.
In the statement, police said Griffith “verbally expressed his discontent to the owner of Eleve regarding his business practices and ongoing problems in the Depot District.”
The business said Griffith’s comments were unjustified and they said they’re just as committed to making the Depot District safer, even recently hiring a full time peace officer.
“Questioning my business is okay but accusing me, saying I have a problem. He has no authority,” said Eleve Hookah Lounge owner, Priten Patel. “If they want to clean up the depot, I’m the first one taking the steps by putting in a peace officer.”
No arrests were made and police said no offense occurred. Councilman Griffith has not commented.
