Bardstown Road bar closes after months of investigations, complaints from residents

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Bardstown Road bar has closed after months of investigations into late night violence and complaints from area residents.

Afrokanza Lounge near Louisville's Highlands neighborhood announced on social media Monday that it is closing immediately.

The post addressed to customers said, "after four years serving the community, we have made the difficult decision to close our doors." The lounge thanked customers and employees for their support.

A statement released Monday afternoon by Louisville's Alcoholic Beverage Control said “Afrokanza Lounge has voluntarily closed after multiple violations with Louisville Metro ABC. We recognize their effort to address compliance issues and be a responsible neighbor to the community. We look forward to the pre-hearing conference on Aug. 6 to further address these concerns. Our priority remains the safety and well-being of the public.”

Afrokanza Lounge, along with nearby Café 360, was referred to the city's code enforcement after a shooting behind one of the bars at 3 a.m. in July 2023 killed one person and left two others wounded.

Another person was shot and killed — also around 3 a.m. — at Café 360 in March 4 of this year. Four days later, Café 360 voluntarily gave up its liquor license for six months.

Nuisance and Abatement signs were posted in June night at both bars. A source told WDRB last month that undercover investigators found the bars had been serving alcohol later than their liquor license allowed. A Louisville Alcoholic Beverage Control investigation also found the bars did not have adequate security and did not stop customers from bring guns inside.

Nearby neighbors felt Café 360 only had problems because of Afrokanza Lounge.

"Really think Café 360 got a really bad rap over this. Sure them being open very late after Afrokanza didn’t help, people would go from Afrokanza and hang out there for a few hours," said Chris Whigham, who lives next door to the establishment. "It maybe enabled it a little bit but by no means was it their fault.”

Whigham's Ring doorbell video captured large crowds outside of Afokanza dancing and fighting. It also captured people running after the shooting inside Café 360.

"Café 360, things happen there because it was a late night spot people could go to after Afrokanza shut down," said Luke Rondot, the general manager at Public House Highlands.

Whigham and Rondot both looked at Afrokanza's closing as a positive. Whigham said it will keep him in the Highlands longer than expected.

"Over the last few months we were always contemplating moving, but now I think we'll stick around a little longer," Whigham said.

Rondot said the violence lost Public House longtime customers. He hopes the closure means those people will return.

"Hopefully them being closed down now, next two to three months gets us back to where we were before," Rondot said. "We lost some of our local regulars that didn’t want to deal with some of that, you know, it’s scary. People have died, been robbed."

A statement released by Richard Price, director of Codes & Regulations Monday said his department is committed to working with police and others to prioritize safety.

"We want business owners to know that we will not tolerate violations and are dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of health, safety, and well-being in our community," Price said.

Metro Councilman Ben Reno-Weber thanked ABC and Codes & Regulations for helping enforce compliance in District 8. "While I value our local businesses and am dedicated to supporting them, their operations should not come at the detriment of the residents who live here."

"If you're not going to responsibly operate with the licenses you have, we need to take away those licenses," Reno-Weber said in an interview with WDRB. "I think that led us to led them to making the decision that they made, they were not going to be able to operate the business the way they envisioned it."

Nearby residents have complained for months that late-night partying at those bars led to fearful neighbors after the violent incidents.

In August 2023, hundreds of neighbors fed up with the violence packed into a local church to voice their concerns. That's when city officials announced ABC and Louisville Metro Police would be ramping up patrols in the area.

"We’re going to be aggressive. We’re going to be aggressive with maintenance code, with the nuisance ordinance and we want to make sure businesses comply with that," Price told WDRB on Monday.

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