The Kansas City, Missouri, Liquor Control Board of Review voted unanimously Wednesday morning to revoke the liquor license at 9ine (Nine) Ultra Lounge.
The nightclub, owned by former Kansas City Chiefs player Alphonso Hodge, was the site of a mass shooting in January that injured 15 people and left two others dead.
Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith told KCUR that the business was already on the department’s radar when the shooting occurred.
According to Jim Ready, director of KCMO Regulated Industries, the club had already violated its six-month probation before another shooting took place on Aug. 30.
He had announced just earlier that week that his division would be recommending the revocation of the business’ liquor license.
“It was more clear than ever that this business needed to be closed. Now I felt like that beforehand, and my goal was to get a revocation before there were any more people hurt or in any form or fashion at that location,” said Ready. “Unfortunately, that didn't happen.”
Jim Ready says the business failed the probationary period for its liquor license after the January shooting and a reported assault in Nov. 2019. The business was then given 90 days to acquire consent forms from local properties to retain its license.
The owner of a nearby business told KCUR in January that the bar had been trouble since it opened.
“It’s been nothing but bad news for us. We’re out here cleaning up the parking lot, picking up after everyone comes on the weekends," said Jesse King of Moving Kings. "It’s just terrible.”
Because of COVID-19, the city extended that grace period, but Ready says his division never received any forms from 9ine Ultra Lounge.
“I told him if you need to change your hours, change your music, implement a dress code, a higher age, I don't care. Just whatever you need to do, make your business safe. And that didn't happen,” said Ready.
Hodge will now never be eligible to receive another liquor license at that 9ine Ultra Lounge’s location. Ready says he could still apply from somewhere else in Kansas City, Missouri, but given his record, it would take an evaluation before it was granted.
Hodge shared with KCUR that he was not at Wednesday’s hearing because it was no longer necessary for him.
“I would never in my life consider having a liquor establishment again so there was no need to fight it,” said Hodge in an email.
