City cites environment of ‘reckless behavior’ in request to shut down Jacques’ nightclub

Published 3:31 pm Tuesday, August 1, 2023

A hearing for the City of Vicksburg’s petition to close Jacques’ nightclub, 1320 Levee St., was continued to Friday at 1:30 p.m. by the 9th District Chancery Court in Sunflower County.

Chancellor Debra Giles presided over the hearing Tuesday morning, during which representatives from the City and Jacques’ were both present. Giles is presiding over the case after Warren County Chancellor Vickie R. Barnes recused herself.

As a condition of the continuation, Giles ordered the nightclub to close through Friday, pending further discussion when the hearing resumes.

Vicksburg Police Chief Penny Jones and City Attorney Kim Nailor were among the parties present to represent the City. In a statement, Nailor cited concerns for the “health, safety and welfare of the public” as the city’s motive for pursuing legal action against the nightclub.

“The Board of Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Vicksburg are tasked with ensuring that businesses operate safely within the City limits and with protecting the health, safety and welfare of the general public in the City,” Nailor said. “There were urgent and necessitous circumstances existing for the City to request injunctive relief against Jacques’ to prevent further violations of law and any additional immediate and irreparable harm and injury to members of the public and damage to property.

“The City cannot continue allowing any businesses or establishments to become an environment for the engagement of reckless behavior or the endangerment of patrons,” she added. “Public safety will always be of utmost concern.”

Jay Parmegiani, owner of Jacques’ and Refined South Restaurant Group LLC, was present with his wife, Kara Parmegiani. An attorney for Parmegiani was not present, nor was a representative from the Mulberry Vicksburg, the hotel and condominium complex to which Jacques’ is attached.

Parmegiani’s attorney advised him not to provide comment at this point.

The Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen officially declared Jacques’ a public nuisance on July 24, filing a petition to have the business closed. The action came after a series of incidents in the parking lot adjacent to the nightclub.

There have been two shootings in the parking lot adjacent to Jacques’ in the past four months. The first shooting on May 6 left four of the nightclub’s security guards wounded. The second, on July 5, involved more than 100 shots fired that hit several vehicles in the parking lot, the floodwall behind it and broke a window at the Vicksburg Convention Center.

Additionally, on July 28 a 20-year-old male was reportedly assaulted at the nightclub and taken to the hospital. However, eyewitness reports indicate the male walked out of the building and was not severely injured. The Vicksburg Police Department was not called to the scene of the incident but was notified after the fact.

Jacques’ moved to its new location, 1320 Levee St., last year from a location on Washington Street. An altercation at its previous location resulted in the bar being temporarily closed by the City, as well as a federal lawsuit being filed by Parmegiani and his attorney against the City of Vicksburg.