Edmonton shisha lounge reopens after owner appeals 2nd closure
An Edmonton shisha bar has reopened days after the city pulled its business licence for the second time.
Nyala Lounge owner Moe Tesfay learned his business was closed on Dec. 4 when he received a letter from the city's licensing department.
The decision came 10 weeks after city officials reversed an initial decision to shut down the bar.
He appealed the decision Friday and won, he said.
The latest license revocation came after the lounge was accused of allegedly breaching business licence conditions between March and August. Melanie Matqie, the city's program manager of business licensing, said the the alleged breach raised "public safety concerns."
The alleged violations documented include overcrowding and not using a metal detector or meeting security staff requirements. Fourteen tickets were issued.
All but one of those tickets have been dismissed, withdrawn or have not yet gone to trial.
The city imposed new conditions on Tesfay's business. This included more stringent security and cuts to the capacity of the lounge. Tesfay initially challenged these conditions, then agreed to follow them.
In her rationale for the latest closure, Matwie highlighted evidence provided by the city's compliance team related to an incident in January 2018 that involved a gun.
Police allege staff and owners hid a gun someone tried to fire during an altercation at Nyala last January. Tesfay has been charged with obstruction of a peace officer.
Tesfay has pleaded not guilty to the charge. The case goes to trial in January.
In the latest written decision to revoke the bar's business license, Matwie wrote the city found it was in "the public interest" to cancel the license due to this incident.
"The incident and the manner in which the incident was handled by Nyala staff and ownership created an unsafe situation for patrons, staff and the community at large," Matwie wrote.
Over the past two years, inspectors with the city's compliance team have issued a total of 43 tickets worth $66,650 to Nyala Lounge and Tesfay, who often defends himself in court. Thirty of those tickets have been withdrawn, dismissed, quashed or cancelled.
Tesfay was found guilty on four infractions, including a ticket for overcrowding in July, which prompted the unusual move by the city to send out a news release.
After appealing the city's latest decision to revoke his business licence the bar reopened Friday.
"I'm happy my lounge is back but still they damaged my business and my name, my community name," said Tesfay, who vowed to keep fighting the outstanding tickets against his business at upcoming court dates.
Around 15 people showed up to the bar Friday night, and not many more on Saturday, he said.
Tesfay decorated a tree outside his bar Friday with dozens of the pink tickets his business has received. He said bar patrons found it amusing.
Customers have been confused about whether the bar is open or not because of Tesfay's ongoing issues with the city and his licensing, he said.
"They don't even understand why the city is targeting my place," Tesfay said.
"I'm going to fight until the end."
