It’s a new year, and the same old story for Denver’s Beta Nightclub. Once again, the beloved venue’s future is left hanging in the balance.
Though the club has historically been instrumental in fostering Denver’s electronic music community, the downtown establishment has sustained a long series of closures, reopenings, and even a rebrand as Beta 2.0 in late 2019. Despite its various woes, the club persisted, though a new directive from the City of Denver has once again forced operations to grind to a halt—perhaps permanently.
According to reporting by the Denver Post, Beta Nightclub began to fall under scrutiny upon law enforcement’s investigation of increasingly prevalent reports of violence happening in the area.
Police testimony from DPD Officer Glasby revealed that at Beta, “nights with no fights were the exception.” Officials reportedly believe Beta wasn’t doing its due diligence to mitigate the risk of violence, pointing out that patrons donning gang insignia were regularly let into the club and the fact that one undercover officer was let in while carrying a firearm.
Club owner Valentes Corleons allegedly sought to bribe and intimidate law enforcement with the hope of staving off a crackdown. The revocation comes just four days after another one of Corleons’ other establishments, Cabin Tap House, was shut down following a deadly New Year’s Day shooting.
“The disruptive and illegal activities associated with the licensed establishment have created an unsafe and hazardous condition and the continued operation of the establishment in this manner would be a danger to the public health, welfare and safety of the community,” wrote Molly Duplechian, deputy director of the licensing department, in the order revoking the bar’s license.
A Facebook post published on the official Beta Event Center page states Corleons is not guilty of any of wrongdoing and suggests they intend to appeal the decision in court.
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