List of businesses closed by the Birmingham City Council

This is a List of businesses closed by the Birmingham City Council:

Before 1990

• May 17, 1899: The Birmingham Board of Aldermen voted to revoke a license granted to the black-owned Slayton & Mauldin saloon.
• 1905: Rabbit Foot Saloon, license revoked by the Birmingham Board of Aldermen
• December 10, 1905: Red Griffith's saloon on the corner of 3rd Avenue North and 14th Street was closed by order of Mayor George Ward after a Black man died from drinking nearly 3 quarts of whisky.
• September 20, 1949: Ellis Barbecue at 521 20th Street South had its ABC license revoked by the Birmingham City Commission for selling whisky on Sunday.
• September 20, 1949: The Jordan Park Creamery at 815 12th Street South had its ABC license revoked by the Birmingham City Commission for selling beer on Sunday.
• 1950s: A store on Huntsville Road in Collegeville was closed down by the Birmingham City Commission at the request of Fred Shuttlesworth following a murder.
• January 13, 1959: Ethel James, owner of Ethel's Place at 230 10th Avenue North had her beer license revoked because she was alleged to have sold whisky without a license the previous December. (report)
• February 5, 1961: The Birmingham City Commission revoked the beer license held by Robert and Olivia Nix for the Rainbow Gardens Cafe at 1751 18th Street Ensley. Police had seen two girls dancing near the juke box and, upon investigating, found that Mr Nix had sold a beer to an 18-year-old boy. (report)

1990s

• September 26, 1995: Ulysses Smoot surrendered the licenses for his Jaguar Club on 2nd Avenue North.

2000s

• September 13, 2007: The city revoked Ty Nguyen's license to operate the Texaco Super Deli on Oporto-Madrid Boulevard North based on a pattern of mistreatment and assaults against customers.
• November 27, 2007: The city revoked the Screening Room's business license.
• July 16, 2008: Banana Joe's ceased operating voluntarily under threat of closure by the city.
• 2008: The city opted not to renew the business license for Mike's Crossroads, but a judge intervened.

2010s

• June 29, 2010: The council revoked Leovigildo Castro's license to operate the Continental Ballroom.
• September 22, 2010: Zen was declared a public nuisance and closed.
• June 28, 2011: Richard Walker's license to operate the L. R. Hall Auditorium was revoked.
• July 12, 2012: Nomtae's business license was revoked.
• August 21, 2012: Mike's Crossroads was again closed by the city after two shootings. The revocation was challenged in court, but upheld. (report)
• September 11, 2012: Club Heat (formerly "Club Asia") owned by Ahmed Mir Shahzed at 1709 1st Avenue North was closed down.
• June 11, 2013: Club Rave, a teen club owned by Stephen Jackson in the same location as the former Club Heat, was closed down.
• June 18, 2013: Bali Spa, a massage parlor at 9533 Parkway East in Roebuck, was shut down.
• March 18, 2014: Good Friends Chinese & Seafood Restaurant was declared a nuisance and closed down following a shooting by the owner, Chun Hin Ching.
• April 22, 2014: The Continental Ballroom, which had re-opened as an event space without a liquor license, was closed down again following a shooting. Councilors expressed disgust at promotional materials for the business before declaring it a nuisance. (report)
• May 6, 2014: The VIP Spa was shut down. (report)
• May 6, 2014: The Foxx Trap Gentleman's Club and Sports Bar at 400 2nd Avenue North was shut down by an 8-1 vote. They reopened under a temporary restraining order, but a fatal shooting of one security guard by another took place on May 10. (report)
• July 28, 2015: The Atlantis Entertainment & Event Center at 4016 Avenue I was closed following several shootings and numerous "inappropriate" events with sexual or gang-related overtones. (report)
• December 6, 2016: Bob's Cafe at 2321 9th Court South near the Southtown Court housing project was declared a public nuisance and had its license revoked due to "multiple incidents". (report)
• October 31, 2017: Skky dance club in the Studio Arts Building at Five Points South after numerous complaints about gang-related fights and various nuisances. (report)
• March 27, 2018: The city revoked Hoang Nguyen's license to operate the Texaco Super Deli on Oporto-Madrid Boulevard North. She is the wife of Ty Nguyen, whose license had been revoked in 2007, and who was implicated in another shooting at the store where he was working as a clerk. (report)

2020s

• October 12, 2021: The city revoked the business and liquor licenses for Club Euphoria at 7 15th Street West in Rising-West Princeton (report)
• November 16, 2021: The City Council voted to revoke the license of the USA Economy Lodge at 7941 Crestwood Boulevard in Eastwood, having already given the business 8 weeks to make improvements. (report)
• September 10, 2024: The City Council voted to revoke the liquor license and dance permit for The Quest nightclub at 416 24th Street South due to ongoing concerns about lack of security. (report)

This list is incomplete and may never satisfy any subjective standard for completeness. You can help Bhamwiki by expanding it.

Developments

In May 2013 the Council adopted the "Kevin Felder ordinance" creating new security and reporting requirements for nightclubs and event venues. It was named in memory of the victim of a fatal stabbing outside Club Zen which led to its closure.

In 2020 Birmingham City Attorney Nicole King established the "Office of the City Attorney's Drug and Nuisance Abatement Team" (OCA-DNAT) which has filed civil suits against businesses which are determined to have fostered nuisance conditions through negligence. The office takes complaints from the public and through the Birmingham Police Department. Businesses served with suits in 2020–2021 include the Monarch Ridge Apartments in Apple Valley and the Town Motel in Graymont. In May 2024, following a major shootout, King's office drafted a complaint against 3rd Avenue Ventures LLC and Express Mart of AL LLC, operators of the Shell gas station and Boston Fish Supreme restaurant at 800 3rd Avenue West in Bush Hills. The suit accused the businesses as serving as "a launching pad for criminal activity." Days later the city also filed a suit against the owner and operator of Cru Lounge at 2300 1st Avenue North.

References

• "City Delays Tourist Court Law Vote" (September 20, 1949) Birmingham Post - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
• Manis, Andrew M. (August 6, 1987) "Interview with Mr. Aldrich Gunn" transcript at Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
• Bryant, Joseph D. (July 6, 2010) "Birmingham to crack down on nuisance nightclubs" The Birmingham News
• Bryant, Joseph D. (March 18, 2014) "Good Friends restaurant where owner shot at customer loses license, is shut down by Birmingham City Council." The Birmingham News
• Edgemon, Erin (November 15, 2017) "Birmingham shut down at least 16 clubs, businesses in last 10 years." The Birmingham News
• Robinson, Carol (September 22, 2021) "City sues Town Motel in west Birmingham over illegal drug activity and violence." The Birmingham News
• Robinson, Carol (May 6, 2024) "Birmingham sues Third Avenue West businesses for being a ‘launching pad for criminal activity’." AL.com
• Robinson, Carol (May 8, 2024) "Birmingham sues downtown Cru lounge for being ‘breeding ground’ of lewd behavior, exhibition driving." AL.com

External links

• "License Hearings Since November 1937" (1962) Typescript in the Theophilus Eugene 'Bull' Connor Collection, Number 268 at Birmingham Public Library Archives - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections