The province is looking to pull the liquor licence of a downtown Hamilton bar that was the site of a shooting earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the City of Hamilton says the club has been operating illegally since August.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) announced Monday that it’s moving to revoke Club 33’s ability to sell booze after it allegedly breached the Liquor Licence and Control Act on multiple occasions.
Those alleged violations include the liquor licence holder leaving the bar unattended on multiple occasions, including one incident where customers were seen serving themselves liquor, according to a media release.
The move to pull the liquor licence comes after a year-long probe at the Bowen Street club, in which AGCO inspectors “observed and advised” the licence holder of several alleged violations, noted the release.
“Despite repeated interventions by the AGCO and attempts to bring this establishment into compliance, inspectors continued to observe issues during their ongoing visits that put the public at risk,” read the release.
In a statement, AGCO CEO and registrar Karin Schnarr said that all liquor licence holders in the province are obligated to operate with “honesty and integrity” and in a manner that doesn’t jeopardize the safety of their patrons or the community at large.
The Spectator made multiple attempts to reach the owner of the club.
The phone number listed online for the bar appeared to be disconnected, however, an unnamed person running the club’s Instagram account refuted the allegations from the AGCO when reached by The Spectator.
“There’s no issues. AGCO is making this a big deal for no reason,” reads one of the direct messages.
Other alleged infractions include the bar serving alcohol after hours on multiple occasions, the bar serving alcohol that “had not been lawfully purchased,” and the staff not having their Smart Serve certification.
The province claimed the bar also obstructed AGCO investigations, including an incident where a manager allegedly provided false information as well as failed to comply with the provincial fire code after several emergency exits were found to be blocked.
The announcement comes after months of upheaval for the Bowen Street club, which was the victim of an arson last October and the site of a shooting — which left one man injured — in February.
Hamilton police officers were called to the club for a “possible shooting” around 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 25, as previously reported by The Spectator. In that shooting, a 22-year-old man — who is not from Hamilton — had been shot inside the crowded club.
At that time, police told The Spectator that they were aware of reports that the club had been operating after hours, however, that would be a separate investigation. It’s not clear if the club was still serving alcohol when gunfire erupted inside.
Police had no updates Tuesday and directed further questions on the business to the city.
Dan Smith, acting director of licensing and bylaw services at the city, told The Spectator the city has issued two noncompliance orders against the business as it has been operating without a licence since last August.
In addition, Smith said the city issued two provincial offences act charges to the business for operating without a licence.
Smith added the city refused their business licence application in early March of this year and the bar never appealed the decision.
The city could not comment further on the charges as they are before the court, Smith said.
Smith added that the club has also been ticketed for waste violations as well as operating a restaurant without a licence.
Mike Rember, deputy chief of operational support and community safety at the Hamilton Fire Department, told The Spectator an inspection of the club back in July also found a number of fire code violations.
The charges are now before the courts, Rember added.
As of Tuesday afternoon, it appeared the club continued to operate, with its Instagram page promoting an event on Friday night, including drink specials on draft beer and bar rail shots.
Raymond Kahnert, a spokesperson for the AGCO, told The Spectator that the commission can’t immediately revoke a liquor licence as the licensee is entitled to “due process,” which includes the right to appeal the decision.
Kahnert said the commission must first provide the licensee with a Notice of Proposal to Revoke their license, from which the licensee then has 15 days to file an appeal.
Fallon Hewitt is a reporter at The Hamilton Spectator. fhewitt@torstar.ca
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