City Nightz shuts down – attorney says owners were left with no choice

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — City Nightz in Old Town decided to close for good. They say it’s because of how they were treated by the City of Wichita after the shooting on July 2, which resulted in nine people being shot and two trampled.

Charles O’Hara is the attorney representing the owner of City Nightz. He says the club received a Notice of Chronic Nuisance from the City following the shooting

O’Hara says the owner feels like he is being picked on by City leadership.

“Violent crime seems to be happening all over the city and at all different locations and all different locations in Old Town … and they don’t blame themselves for those,” said O’Hara.

He explains the club owners of City Nightz are being single-handedly blamed for the shooting. The attorney explains the notice was delivered to cause issues for the establishment.

“It’s a way to try to shut them down and maybe even cause problems for the owner of the property, which would be the person who actually owns it that they’re leasing from,” said O’Hara.

He says the club is now dealing with multiple lawsuits due to the placement of blame and says the treatment from the city is unfair.

Other establishments in Old Town that have experienced crime say they also deal with strict regulations. Some businesses say that it’s nothing new.

“If somebody is regularly having issues, the City and the police come in and tell them, ‘Hey, you guys have to straighten up because we are having this many issues.’ That’s been the case for years and years,” said Emma Johnsen, owner of Mort’s Martini and Cigar Bar.

Johnsen explains that most businesses in Old Town do a good job of promoting a positive and safe nightlife environment. She says Old Town “is really important to Wichita, and we need to make sure it stays that way.”

O’Hara says the City acted too quickly when placing responsibility for the shooting of the club, even before knowing the full facts of the incident. He says the club had more safety measures than legally required in place.

“They just jumped to a bunch of conclusions that really hurt the business owner badly,” said O’Hara.

A couple of local businesses said both the City and establishments can do better to keep the area safe.

“The City and police should work together with the place that is having the problems, but the place should actually be stepping up and trying to fix the issues themselves,” said Johnsen.