The sign on the front of the squat, brick building near Harry and Woodlawn says “People’s 316 Association.” Police call it the Lion’s Den.
The building used to be a popular burger joint. Now, it’s been flagged as an after-hours establishment where a 2:30 a.m. shooting injured two people this summer.
At another after-hours party at different club, a 3 a.m. shooting left one man dead. Police now say the city needs to license and regulate after-hours clubs to make sure they’re safe. “These places are totally unregulated, which is problematic for us to address,” Police Chief Gordon Ramsay told City Council members at a workshop recently.
An after-hours establishment often looks like a bar or club but typically operates between midnight and 6 a.m., sometimes illegally serving alcohol and food along with a host of other problems, Ramsay said.
Unlike licensed bars and clubs, after-hours establishments do not have to allow police or city inspectors inside, and they often operate outside of fire codes and food and liquor regulations, Ramsay said. When police respond to incidents at the after-hours spots, no one takes responsibility for the activities, he said.
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