LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A south Louisville gentlemen's club where a man was fatally shot in November is fighting to reopen after Kentucky officials suspended its alcohol licenses.
Suga Land Gentlemen's Club at 3503 7th Street Road, which features "scantily clad but non-nude dancers," filed a lawsuit in Jefferson Circuit Court on Jan. 11 appealing the state Alcoholic Beverage Control board's emergency suspension of the club's licenses on Nov. 20, 2023.
State officials effectively shuttered the club in Louisville's Taylor-Berry neighborhood after 42-year-old Quinn Dunlap was shot and killed inside the venue about 3:20 a.m. Nov. 11.
Dunlap collapsed near the door of the club and died at the scene, according to testimony in the liquor license suspension case. Louisville Metro police's homicide unit continues to investigate and no charges have been filed, police said Tuesday.
Suga Land is owned by Yolanda Jordan, according to alcohol license records. It hasn't reopened since the shooting.
Kentucky law prohibits patrons from bringing loaded firearms into businesses that serve alcohol by the drink and requires that alcohol licensees maintain order in their venues.
In a decision last month, a Kentucky hearing officer upheld ABC officials' conclusion that Suga Land allowed a violation of law on its premises when its security screenings failed to prevent the person with the gun from entering the club.
Thus, the club's continued sales of booze presents an immediate danger to the public, according to the ABC.
"Ultimately, the most reasonable view of the proof is that the shooter had the gun on his person or in his bag upon entering the club, but the searches of him failed to find it," the hearing officer wrote in the Dec. 13 decision.
But Suga Land argues it is being unfairly singled out, as "other similarly situated alcohol establishments (have) had shooting(s) but did not have their licenses suspended," according to the lawsuit.
Nader Shunnarah, the business' attorney, told WDRB News that shootings have occurred at numerous grocery stores, gas stations and other businesses in Louisville, which have not had their licenses revoked.
"You cannot hold Suga Land to a higher standard than everyone else in the community," he said Tuesday. "... The fact is, these things happen. There are so many shootings in the Louisville Metro area that Louisville Metro police can't stop it, and they're responsible for public safety."
According to the lawsuit, Suga Land had a security procedure whereby patrons receive two pat-downs, along with four or five security personnel on site. The bar "recently purchased new security wands to scan everyone entering the premises."
Shunnarah said no one has accused the business of having anything to do with the shooting.
"There was no argument; there was no commotion. There was no hostility exhibited ... There was nothing that would give Suga Land any idea that there was going to be a shooting," he said. "It was just instant."
