There’s still one bar in downtown McAllen that has yet to reopen after the city shut off the power to over a dozen bars and clubs in the area on Sept. 12.

La Santa was among the bars affected by the outage that the city said was triggered by the businesses not having the proper permits as part of an effort to curb underage drinking and enforce permit requirements.

La Santa owner Antonio Cedillo and his business partner Rafael Ortega spent their Thursday at the McAllen Development Office. Both men said they’ve been spending a lot of time there trying to get their permits in check for nearly three weeks.

Both men said the process has been complicated. Cedillo said they’ve provided floor plans of the business to the city, and have even had to provide a detailed list of the materials the building is made of. 

“The city is telling us we need to use a special fire retardant paint on our business,” Cedillo said. “We showed the city two types of paint, and now they're telling us we have to show documentation on how the paint is applied.”

Cedillo said he bought the business from the previous owner and has only had the business for three months.

The city's increased enforcement comes after a police officer was assaulted breaking up an after-hours street fight on Aug. 24, leading to the arrest of two teens. 

“We do want to work with our business community," McAllen Deputy City Manager Michelle Rivera said. 

Rivera supervises building permits as part of her duties.

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Cedillo and Ortega provided Channel 5 News a tour of La Santa bar. It was the first time both men have been inside the bar since the power was shut off. Cedillo said the business did not have a certificate of occupancy, which certifies the building has fire measures in place.

The bar has a patio area with a wooden cover that Cedillo said is the city’s area of concern, as the city requires them to paint the wood with a fire retardant paint.

“What people may not know is that most of our downtown is considered a fire district,” Rivera said. “Because of the density of the structures that are built — wall to wall — wood is not allowed as a construction method down there.”

According to Rivera explained, any wooden structures in the downtown area needs to be pretreated with a specific type of chemical that helps keep a potential fire from spreading, and the paint needs to be applied correctly. 

Cedillo said fire safety isn't the only thing in the way of getting power back on.

According to Cedillo, the previous business owner and current property owners must show up to the Hidalgo County Courthouse for a hearing on the outdoor patio cover that was not approved by the city on Oct. 6, 2025.

From there, Cedillo said he plans to go to the city to get a new special use permit under his name as the new owner of the bar.

After that, Cedillo said he will put the business up to fire code standards, go through inspection, and hopefully get a certificate of occupancy.

Watch the video above for the full story.