A Denver nightclub that city officials closed down after a security guard was accused of assaulting a customer at gunpoint will reopen with new safety measures, according to an agreement reached this week between the club’s owner and city licensing officials.
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City officials forced Olympus Discotheque, a nightclub at 2036 N. Broadway, to close earlier this month after an unlicensed security guard was accused of holding an 18-year-old woman at gunpoint inside the club and sexually assaulting her in an hour-long attack after the club closed for the night on July 18.
In addition to that incident, the bar allowed an underage police cadet into the club and sold the cadet three alcoholic drinks, the city alleged.
The club will be allowed to reopen as long as its owner, Wuilmer Varela Cardoza, pays a $2,000 fine and implements new safety measures upon reopening, according to the agreement.
He committed to employing at least two licensed security guards or off-duty police officers when the club is open between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m., and three such guards when the club’s basement bar is open, according to the agreement.
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On weekend nights, the guards will pat down incoming patrons and use handheld metal detectors to sweep for weapons, according to the agreement. Carodoza will be required to periodically ensure the guards’ licenses remain up-to-date.
Cardoza also agreed to install additional security cameras, keep the club well lit and ensure that all customers leave by 2:15 a.m., among several other conditions. The nightclub could face a doubled fine and a 60-day closure if Cardoza does not meet the conditions of the agreement, the documents show.
Summary suspensions like the one brought against Olympus Discotheque are an emergency measure designed as a response to immediate threats to people’s health and safety, and are historically rare.
The city has issued three summary suspensions this year, however, including one for a southeast Denver nightclub after a shooting at the bar left one man dead and wounded another eight people.
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