Gilroy Police responded to multiple 911 calls reporting a large bar fight at the Beehive Bar connected to the Longhouse Restaurant, 8195 Monterey St. in Gilroy, at 12:25 a.m. Monday morning.
“We were there within two minutes,” said Gilroy police Sgt. Chad Gallacinao, “but they had already left the scene.”
Officers did see a red Toyota truck leaving the scene when they arrived and subsequently stopped the vehicle and arrested 38-year-old Gilroyan Paul Plaza for driving under the influence. Police were not able to tie Plaza to the bar fight which, Gallacinao said, involved eight people.
Things began to turn ugly in the early morning hours Monday according to Longhouse and Beehive owner Danny Maroudas when cheers and jubilation from football fans watching the San Francisco 49ers’ victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Sunday’s NFC championship game started arguing with Oakland Raiders fans. The arguing turned to pushing and shoving inside the bar, but Maroudas said no punches were thrown.
Gallacinao reported broken beer bottles on the bar floor and Maroudas said the front glass door to the restaurant was smashed in. It wasn’t clear if the fight and the broken front door were related. The door was boarded up that night and then the glass was replaced in the morning, though Maroudas said he believed one of the people involved in the fight either punched or kicked the front restaurant door when walking through the parking lot.
“That’s a very rare incident that we had here,” Maroudas said. “Everyone was gone when the police arrived.”
Maroudas said the door that separates the Beehive Bar from the Longhouse dining area is locked after restaurant hours and he did not believe anyone broke through that door when fleeing the scene.
“(The 49ers and Raiders) are both local California teams, so I don’t know why everyone couldn’t just root for the 49ers to win,” Maroudas said.
Management decided to close the bar for the night after the fight and police stayed to make sure everyone in the crowd of 20 or so went home.
“There were plenty of taxis in the area,” Gallacinao said. He also said that no walk-ins with fight injuries showed up at the emergency room at Saint Louise Regional Hospital.
