The city of McAllen has revoked Special Use Permits for dozens of bars in the downtown area for not following city code.

The city says the business owner will have to show they're in compliance with minimum safety before their Special Use Permit is reinstated.

"If we have to shut them down, we're going to shut them down," McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos said.

RELATED STORY: City of McAllen revokes permits for 20 downtown bars that 'refuse to prevent underage drinking'

The owner of a vape shop in the area says he's seen the spillover from rowdy crowds downtown.

La Vaperia owner Christopher Drewry said business has been slow so far.

He was hoping that by being a block away from the 17th street bar scene, he would get more people walking through the door of his vape shop.

La Vaperia has locations in Tampico and Monterrey, and they were banking on being a success in downtown McAllen, but now, they're planning on closing their doors for good.

Drewry says several incidents at the store and low foot traffic is contributing to his decision.

When the store would stay open late, Drewry says people would come in asking to use the bathroom to vomit. He's dealt with the smell of urine outside and bottles littered on the sidewalk.

A block over on 17th Street, the city is going after bars serving minors and any business violating city codes in the entertainment area.

"Shame on us maybe, not looking a little closer there because generally we do not want to get involved in business," Villalobos said.

Villalobos says the city revoked the permits for 20 bars after the city says they failed to implement safeguards to prevent underage drinking.

Some of those safeguards include age-verification technology and UV markers to clearly mark who is under 21 years old. The city says the tools are inexpensive and effective.

"When you put public safety against profits and when somebody's not doing it right, we have to step in," Villalobos said.

The enforcement stems from the assault of a McAllen police officer downtown. She was trying to break up a fight, and the two people arrested for their alleged involvement are both teens.

Villalobos said city inspectors found some businesses didn't even have an occupancy permit.

On Tuesday, bar operators entered pleas for 34 misdemeanors resulting in over $11,000 in fines for operating without a Special Use Permit or violating its terms.

Last weekend, the city inspector issued 38 citations for fire code violations and operating without permits.

The mayor says he'll continue putting downtown businesses under the microscope and more meetings need to be held on the underage drinking issue.

Watch the video above for the full story.