Charlie Bear: Land of Dance has been denied renewal of its liquor license. The club announced it was moving from its location (pictured above) in the South Campus Gateway to 2885 Olentangy River Road in October.
Credit: Lantern file photo
Charlie Bear: Land of Dance is now a land of desolation, as the dance club has been denied renewal of its liquor permit.
The bar, located at 2885 Olentangy River Road, was notified of the denial by the Ohio Division of Liquor Control earlier this month following a wave of violent crimes inside and outside the club in recent years.
Some offenses included assault, fights, rape, public intoxication, drug use and public urination from a balcony.
A man was shot and killed by police outside the bar last December after the man shot at another man following an argument inside the club.
Calls to Gary Jones, who is representing owner Ted Lawson, went unreturned as of Friday afternoon.
However, Lawson is likely to appeal, Jones said in a Sept. 13 Columbus Dispatch story.
The club announced it was moving from its previous South Campus Gateway location at 1562 N. High St. in late October.
Some said safety was one concern that led to Charlie Bear vacating the Gateway area.
“There had been several safety issues and security instances over the course of the last couple of years that we had tried to address with Charlie Bear, and certainly their inability to work with us in trying to address those led us to some of our decision,” said Amanda Hoffsis, president of Campus Partners for Community Urban Redevelopment, in November.
Campus Partners is a private nonprofit corporation that works on community planning in the Ohio State campus area alongside the university and the city of Columbus. South Campus Gateway LLC is a subtenant of Campus Partners.
Some students said the denial is probably for the better.
“They didn’t have it together,” said Mike Coontz, a second-year in exploration. “It is probably for the best that they are now closed down completely”.
Aurora Stromberg, a fourth-year in strategic communication, said she doesn’t think many students go to Charlie Bear anymore since it moved farther from campus.
Abigail Abrams contributed to this story.
