The city of Atlanta is looking to shutter a downtown hookah lounge following a spate of shootings over the past two years, at least three of which were fatal.
In a complaint filed last week, the city alleged Encore Hookah Bar & Bistro “attracts an influx of criminal activity” to the area and asked a judge to grant an injunction declaring the property a “public nuisance.”
The bar is located on Luckie Street near the Georgia Aquarium. The complaint alleges several stray bullets entered the aquarium’s dolphin enclosure during a September 17, 2021, shooting that left one man injured after a brawl. Five dolphins housed inside the habitat had to be temporarily relocated so the aquarium’s dive team could remove shattered glass from the enclosure, according to the filing.
“This incident was extremely disturbing to the staff at the Georgia Aquarium,” the complaint reads. “Had there been a trainer on site at the time of the shooting, there is a high probability that he or she could have been seriously injured.”
The aquarium was struck by gunfire again earlier this month when a group of women shot into the air following an argument with the bar’s owner, according to the city’s complaint.
Since February 2020, Atlanta police have responded to at least 171 calls for service at the lounge “concerning violent criminal activity,” including homicides, shootings, larceny from vehicles, disorderly conduct and aggravated assault, the filing alleges.
A 29-year-old DeKalb County man was killed outside Encore in January 2021 after someone got out of a car and shot him in the street, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. Investigators have offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in DeAndre’ Houston’s killing.
Credit: Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home
Credit: Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home
Last month, a 28-year-old security guard was fatally shot after he was asked to escort a man from the bar. The guard, identified as Tyshon Ross, died from his injuries at Grady Memorial Hospital.
After Ross’ shooting, the real estate group that manages the property confirmed it is in eviction proceedings with the hookah bar’s owner.
Habif Properties first notified the business in September that their lease would be terminated over concerns of “criminal incidents occurring outside Encore Hookah,” the Atlanta-based company said in a statement. The business agreed to vacate by Dec. 23 but is still occupying the property as a “holdover tenant.”
The company is listed as a defendant in the city’s complaint, along with the bar’s owner and its manager, court records show.
“We are aware of the motion for a temporary restraining order brought by the city of Atlanta against Encore Lounge, which is continuing to occupy this property,” Habif Properties said Monday. “We are continuing our legal efforts to evict Encore Lounge from the property and will fully comply with the city of Atlanta in our shared goal of removing this tenant as soon as permitted by law.”
The complaint also outlines several other shootings, including an Oct. 25, 2021, incident in which an off-duty officer working a part-time job as a parking attendant was shot in the face. The officer returned fire, killing the man who shot him. And last May, two bystanders were injured when someone fired between 25 and 30 shots at the lounge.
The spike in shootings has left employees and guests of the nearby Hyatt Place Atlanta Centennial Park on high alert, the complaint alleges. The hotel’s armed security guards are “currently required to wear body armor for their own safety and protection.”
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