The memo sent from Interim City Manager Chris Wilson about action already taken concerning violence at bars and nightclubs appears to indicate that the proposed Greensboro Safety Review Board is not needed.

The incidents that kicked off this latest effort to get a nightclub ordinance passed were four stabbings at Club Tranquilo on April 11, followed by a fight on April 13 where Greensboro police officers used pepper spray to end the altercation.

According to the memo, the Greensboro Police Department (GPD) “immediately and formally requested revocation of Tranquilo’s ABC permits.”  The memo states, “The ABC Commission issued an emergency suspension of Club Tranquilo’s ABC permits on April 16, 2021.”  So three days after the second event on April 13, the ABC permits for the club were suspended.

An incident on July 11 at One 17 Sofa Lounge where two people were shot resulted in the ABC Commission canceling the ABC permits.

Also on July 11 an aggravated assault, where three people were shot at Lucky’s Skate Shop, resulted in the operators of the club being forced out.  The memo states, “The owner of the location is working with the ALE [North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement] to install new operators.”  The new operators will have to apply for new ABC permits, which will cancel the ABC permits of the former operators.

The memo states, “Likewise, last year a string of violent incidents occurred at 508 Teague Street, which operated a various nightclubs and most recently as Ambiance Events Center.  Because the GPD and ALE objected to ABC licenses being issued for this location, the NC ABC Commission declined to issue permits and the location is currently a car lot.”

The memo states that the proposed Greensboro Safety Review Board would create, “a more cohesive approach.”  But also gives those three examples of how violent events at private for-profit businesses with licenses to sell alcohol for on-premises consumption were handled, which was to have the ABC licenses for those businesses revoked, effectively putting them out of business.