Roo-Bar Lounge Closed for Good After City Revokes Licenses

Molly Duplechian, executive director of Excise & Licenses, issued the order on June 2 to revoke the dance cabaret and liquor licenses for the RiNo hangout, effective immediately.

The club has been embroiled in controversy since last fall, when accusations of disorderly conduct, violence and improper security first caught the attention of city officials. According to the June 2 order, the only factor that went into the final decision to drop the curtain on Roo-Bar was that its owner failed to comply with a settlement agreement that he had reached with the city, allowing the bar to continue operating under certain conditions.

“The words of settlement agreements have meaning and purpose, and they must be followed,” Duplechian wrote in the order. “The Department proved by a preponderance of the evidence that the Respondent violated the above listed conditions.”

The conditions were that Roo-Bar had to implement a security policy with a minimum of five properly licensed security guards on site during business hours — or off-duty Denver Police Department officers — who would pat patrons down and use a handheld metal detector on them. All back and side entrances had to be secured, no one could be re-admitted after leaving, and a dress code was supposed to be put in place that prohibited gang-affiliated “names, insignia, lettering, or other gang identifying markings.”

During an undercover sting at the club on February 23, the Denver Police Department found that Roo-Bar wasn’t using wands on every patron and was letting people re-enter after leaving — on top of having just three licensed security guards.

Erica Rogers, director of policy for Excise & Licenses, issued an order of non-compliance on March 9.

“The Deputy Director hereby Orders that Respondent’s Dance Cabaret License and Hotel and Restaurant License be REVOKED,” Rogers wrote in the order.

Roo-Bar was told it would have to close in ten days, but was given the option of requesting a hearing to determine whether it had truly violated its settlement agreement. It did just that, but the hearing wound up proving it had indeed violated the agreement. Duplechian’s June 2 order makes the revocation official.

Since 2019, the city has issued an order to revoke licenses for only four other bars: Sancho’s Broken Arrow, Viceroy Lounge, Cabin Tap House and Beta Nightclub.

Roo-Bar owner Jugurta Tighraine “testified that it was not fair to require one hundred percent compliance from him,” Duplechian’s June 2 order recaps. “He also testified that he should not be punished for violating the agreement and Order to Show Cause because there has not been any shootings or violence at his club since the Settlement Agreement was signed.”

According to Duplechian, the point of the order was to prevent those situations, so waiting for more would defeat the purpose. “The Director need not wait for another shooting or other acts of violence to take action upon a license violation; nor should she,” she wrote.

Finally, Roo-Bar argued that since Wolfe Security Inc. is the entity that provided the improperly licensed security guards — who failed to use wands or prevent people from re-entering — the lounge itself should not be responsible for the violations.

Again, that reasoning didn’t fly.

“Respondent cannot simply contract its way out of its own negotiated terms and conditions by hiring a contractor and placing the burden on them,” Duplechian concluded.

Roo-Bar Lounge did not respond to requests for comment.