Council members say after-hours clubs still causing problems

Three months after Metro Council passed legislation regulating after-hours clubs, criminal incidents continue to take place at some establishments, while others have muddied the water by changing their zoning designation.

There are still 11 after-hours clubs in Davidson County, according to information provided by Metro Codes Department. Until District 16 Metro Councilwoman Anna Page took on the issue a year ago, there were myriad problems at the clubs including underage drinking and illegal drug use.

An after-hours club is one that operates between the hours of 3 and 6 a.m.

Page passed legislation that limited the parking availability and made it illegal for those frequenting the clubs to bring in alcohol. Before Page’s legislation, people could bring their own beer into the clubs.

Since the legislation was passed in December, two clubs previously designated as after-hours clubs have made the switch to “private clubs.” They are Brass Stables, Cigar Bar and Jockey club in Printer’s Alley and Pure Gold’s Crazy Horse downtown. Both of those clubs operate as a gentleman’s club until 3 a.m. according to their current zoning designation.

A private club is typically a VFW post or a Moose Lodge. Page said she was aware of the clubs that had made the switch.

“We have to make sure the clubs that make the switch to private clubs are actually private clubs,” Page said, adding there was already a precedent for what qualifies as a private club.

Besides establishments making the switch to “private club” status, remaining after-hours clubs have continued to have incidents ranging from being a poor neighbor to serious criminal incidents.

One club in Antioch, D’Holguin Legend has annoyed its neighbors and led to various complaints for District 28 Duane Dominy. Since Page’s legislation was enacted, the club has had 11 criminal incidents requiring Metro Police investigation, including crimes like robbery and assault, according to police.

D’Holguin is located next to a Whitt’s Barbeque on Antioch Pike. It took threats of calling Metro Police for the club to prevent its patrons from parking in Whitt’s lot.

“The main problem we had was they were parking in the parking lot, busted windows, broke-down cars, bags of drugs, used condoms,” Whitt’s employee Justin Morris said. “It’s cleaned up a little but not really. They’re not coming over any more. We told them if they didn’t stop, we’d call the police and that actually worked.”

Dominy said police were aware of the concerns and his hope was that action would be taken.

“The challenge we face as Council members and community members is we are obligated to abide by the law and provide due process,” Dominy said. “But when after-hours establishments choose to thumb their nose at the law, we have to deal with the consequences.”

D’Holguin could not be reached for comment.

Dominy said more legislation was possible to address the lingering concerns, and added that police were aware of the problem.

“We are aware of it, and we are going to continue to work to address the problem,” the councilman said.