Vendetta: Joe's Bar

Joe's Bar was set up at the turn of the century. The major crime boss of the city at the time retired to the Florida Keys, he left Joe's Bar as a place where his sucessors could meet and discuss things on neutral ground.

Todays mob leaders also recognise the value of a truly neutral meeting ground. As do the police who raid the bar with a notably low frequency, (it is rumoured that they use certain channels to make sure that important individuals are not caught when they do make a raid). The advantages of knowing a little of the main mobsters movements and activities are ample compensation for turning a blind eye to the other minor criminal activities which take place in the bar.

Many other individuals are attracted to the relaxed and safe enviroment that Joe's offers. Just about everyone in the city is aware of its reputation, and many people recommend it as a place to start looking for just about anything.

There are a few simple rules, the most rigidly enforced is a complete ban on guns, the proprietor is aware that tempers come to the boil more quickly in the presence of additional heat. Respect between the various factions that inevitably clash within the bar is maintained partly by the loss of face that being the first to lose your temper would entail, and partly by the asset you would lose if you were to lose the facility of access to the bar and consequent safe communication with those outside your control.

Joe's bar has just about survived the Depression. The majority of the clients have a bit less money in their pockets, but even more reason to spend it on having what little good times they can afford. The increase in open gang warfare hasn't reduced the need for a piece of neutral ground to be safe on, and there is a bit more security than say five years ago.