UPDATED: Thursday, January 22, 2009 --- 8 p.m.

Just weeks after one of his employees was involved in a murder a local bar owner is facing off with city officials.

The message is clear, shape up or shut down.

It is not the kind of publicity any bar owner wants.

Camera's converge on the area after the beating death of one of his customers, an employee is one of three charged with murder.

Downtown Alder Mike Verveer says, "That was really the straw that broke the proverbial camels back and why I requested this meeting today."

The alleged beating death was the final chapter in what turned out to be a few months of problems for Crave Restaurant and Lounge in downtown Madison.

Verveer says, "It's not everyday, luckily, in our community that a bar employee is involved in a homicide."

City officials were concerned enough to call for a closed door meeting with the owner Eric Fleming.

Fleming has no interest in discussing the issues with us but city officials say a disorderly conduct he received at the bar Halloween Weekend is one of many problems.

Verveer says, "There have been issues in the past where there hasn't been cooperation and there certainly hasn't been notification."

Following Thursday's meeting though even those reviewing liquor licenses seem hopeful for change.

Alcohol license review committee member Michael Schumacher says, "They owned the problem and they're willing to do something, whatever those little problems are."

After almost two hours behind closed doors city staff seemed to be pleased and say at this point there won't be any further action taken against the bar/restaurant.

City staff say if they continue to run into problems with the bar they will not hesitate to take more severe action and they say today's meeting is completely separate from any legal action the bar may already be facing.

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POSTED: Thursday, January 22, 2009 --- 7:15 p.m.

After one of his employees is involved in a murder, a downtown Madison bar owner gets the message to clean up its act.

The crave has been in the negative spotlight for a few months, the criticism reaching it's highest point after one of its bouncers was involved in the beating death of a customer.

A city council member says the December incident was the last straw and he called for the owner, Eric Fleming, to meet with city officials.

The intervention was an effort to get Fleming to change things or face the possibility of losing his liquor license.

Fleming refused comment after the meeting, but city officials did.

"There's a vibe you get in the place when you're just simply walking past it as I do where it seems like it's turned into some place that could blow up and unfortunately we've had nightclubs like that in downtown Madison," says Mike Verveer the downtown Alder.

City officials seemed pleased with the meeting and say for now, no further action will be taken against the bar/restaurant.