After investing all her savings into starting her dream business, owner April Dixon awoke to a nightmare when she walked into her bar to find everything gone.

She thought her dream of creating an atmosphere of a relaxing, inviting atmosphere in a sophisticated setting for a mature crowd looking for enjoyable entertainment without the troublesome 20-something toddlers was gone.  

DETERMINATION—Tavern owner April Dixon refuses to leave and gets by with a little help from her friends.

On any given evening, April’s is Homewood’s 30-plus getaway lounge and every morning, Dixon unlocks the door to her dream come true—a bar of her very own; but on the morning of Sept. 22, she unlocked the door to a dream deferred, a real-life nightmare.

Shattered glass, missing electronic tabletop games and cigarette machines and not a trace of a single bottle of liquor stared back at Dixon, as she stiffly stood in the entrance of her bar.

“Never in a thousand years could anyone have prepared me for what I walked into,” Dixon said, “even though this was the second incident.”

Dixon’s bar was also burglarized just merely a week before, during a blackout that occurred when strong winds blew through the city the night of Sept. 14. In the first incident, Dixon said they only took liquor totaling about $1,200. But this time around, damages from the second break-in totaled well over $17,000. Both incidents occurred overnight after the bar was closed.

With the entrance, exit, and windows all protected with anti-theft security bars, one would wonder how the vandalism could have occurred.

“Well, the second time they tunneled through a damn wall,” Dixon said. The culprits, evidently no amateurs, used some type of machinery to bust through the inner wall of the bar. Dixon mentioned an increase in vandalism taking place in Homewood. “They went through another bar’s ceiling—they must be some bold professionals.”

Dixon explained that the vandals stole her entire security system, broke each cash register, and even went so far as to take her Direct TV channel changers.  

“I was hurt; I was mad, but, I was madder than I could ever appropriately express, and I wanted to quit, but a really good friend of mine, Emmitt Wilson—owner of the Phase III told me, ‘Don’t let it stop you, don’t let them win.’”

Close friends and loyal customers gathered their thoughts and funds, and threw a “rent party.” Donations were offered up to keep April’s on the Ave! in business.

“My community consoled me and my spirit was not broken. I was so moved, I mean even the owner of the Coliseum sent me a big gift. I don’t know his name but I was so grateful. So I felt that if my customers want me here that bad, then I’m going to be here for them,” Dixon said.

So April on the Ave! lives on, bruised but not broken. With many things still needed to fully revive the lounge, Dixon said, “I love to cook and I have a lot of my own recipes on the menu and concoctions behind the bar. I’m going to treat my customers great, because [my customers] treat me great. So come on in and enjoy.”