DENVER — A Denver nightclub is set to reopen under a new name and new security conditions after the city suspended its licenses over a sexual assault allegation involving an unlicensed security guard and underage drinking violations.
The Denver Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection said it reached a settlement with the owner of Olympus Discotheque, allowing the club to reopen after a 15-day closure, a $2,000 fine, and more security requirements. The owner confirmed to Denver7 the bar on Broadway will reopen under a new name: Xtatic Night Club.
Denver7 reporter Maggie Bryan has the story in the video below:
The city suspended the club's liquor license in August after allegations that an unlicensed security guard hired to work at the club sexually assaulted an 18-year-old woman at gunpoint inside the bar in July. The suspect, Vincente David Espino-Gonzalez, faces multiple felony charges, including sex assault and kidnapping. The city also said the club allowed people under 21 inside and served them alcohol.
The settlement requires the club to have at least two licensed security guards or off-duty police officers from 9 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Friday through Sunday, pat down customers and use metal detectors at entry during those hours, improve lighting in all public areas, restrict patron entry and exit to the front door only, and ban third-party promoters from controlling club operations.
The agreement also requires the club owner to install more security cameras in the outdoor patio area, back alley, basement bar, and stairwell to the basement. According to the settlement, if the club violates any of the conditions over the next year, it faces a 60-day closure and a $4,000 fine.
Eric Escudero, spokesman for the city's licensing department, said about 90% of all business license discipline cases in the City and County of Denver end with a settlement agreement because the goal is compliance, not closure.
"Our goal is to try to get businesses, like nightclubs that break the rules, to get them on a pathway of compliance, because those regulations are there for a reason," Escudero said. "We don't want to see people lose their jobs because a business is forced to close. We want to give businesses every opportunity to follow the rules."
He emphasized, however, that the city plans to be "more vigorous than ever" when it comes to making sure bars and nightclubs follow the rules.
The city ordered Ultra Lounge in southeast Denver to shut down after a deadly mass shooting in July. Escudero said the suspension of Olympus Discotheque's license came after several other business suspensions, including Yak and Yeti, the Nati Hotel and the Vibe Smoke Shop.
"We don't want to get that call on a Saturday night and find out another shooting or a violent incident or something happening to a customer at a business. We want to put an end to that," Escudero said.
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