The Columbus Dispatch
The Columbus City Attorney’s Office said Wednesday that it had secured a preliminary injunction against a Hilltop neighborhood bar that has been the site of several violent incidents in recent years.
Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein today announced a preliminary injunction in Franklin County Environmental Court ordering safety and security upgrades at Cain’s Sports Bar located at 3475 Sullivant Ave., according to a release.
Two people were killed and two others were wounded in a July 2022 shooting. In March 2023, three people were shot following a fight outside the bar around 2:30 a.m.
“With violence spilling out into the streets and threatening public safety, it was imperative that the city step in, hold bar owners accountable for this troubling behavior, and make sure they work with the experts at [Columbus Division of Police and Columbus Division of Fire] to improve safety and security for patrons, employees and the surrounding neighborhood,” Klein said in a prepared release.
Under the terms of the court order, the bar will shut down operations earlier, hire more security and allow full police and fire security assessments to determine future safety and security plans to protect public safety.
For the next four weeks, the bar’s owners have agreed to cease alcohol sales by 1:30 a.m. and close the premises by 2 a.m., the release said. The bar must also hire properly licensed security or off-duty Columbus police officers from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. from Thursday to Sunday and reassess security staffing levels one year following the signing of the order.
Cain’s attorney, Mark Gutentag, noted that Cain’s has previously worked to improve security at the bar, including unsuccessfully seeking Columbus off-duty officers to provide security.
“The bar and the owner of the property agreed to add private security because Columbus police officers won’t do it,” he said. “The bar has requested off-duty Columbus police on several occasions, and they’re not doing it.”
In addition, Columbus police are now authorized to arrest as trespassers all nonemployees loitering after the bar closes.
The City Attorney’s Office and Cain’s ownership are scheduled to meet June 29 for a status conference.
Gutentag, a former campus bar owner who represents bars throughout the state, said bars aren’t the cause of violence.
“This gun violence isn’t because of bars and restaurants,” he said. “And the time that bars close doesn’t dictate what people do with their guns.”
