Former strip club closes, to reopen as family-friendly sports bar

INDIANAPOLIS – There’s a whole new plan for a former East Side strip club that closed last spring after three shootings.

A community meeting was held at the Irvington Presbyterian Church on Tuesday evening, giving neighbors the opportunity to learn about the new plans for a sports bar and comment on the future of the property.

“Every night there were fights. Every night the engines were roaring, there was loud music. It was just completely out of control,” said Matthew Gallagher, who lives across the street from the former Paradise club.

Gallagher said he has felt the direct effects of living next door to the former strip club at 52 over the past year.^and and English Avenue.

“It’s terrifying, nobody wants a bullet flying through their house,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher said a bullet went through his living room after the shooting at his former club on April 10.

Despite increased security measures, there were three shootings at the club within 30 days last spring.

After the last incident in May, the owner told WRTV that they had voluntarily decided to close the club.

Now the same owner is trying to reopen the location with a completely new concept.

“The plan is to have a sports bar for all ages. Most importantly, it will be open for lunch and dinner. The hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and we think that is probably the best solution to all the problems,” said Jeffrey McKean, the company’s attorney.

McKean told WRTV that most incidents at the former club site typically occurred after midnight.

He said the business owners have worked with IMPD, City Councilman Andy Nielsen and neighborhood associations to try to transform the former club into a family-friendly facility.

Now it is set to reopen as the “English Sports Bar and Grill,” but with some changes, including no stage and no old sign outside.

“They’ve already set up a pool table and darts. There are plans for trivia nights, karaoke and similar activities so people in the neighborhood can hang out in a nice environment,” Gallagher said.

McKean said her goal is to bring something new to the neighborhood while working with the community to ensure safety.

At Wednesday’s meeting, McKean spoke of a 90-day trial period to test the new concept and log in to the community.

“We would set up checkpoints where we could meet the neighborhood groups along the way to make sure there are no problems and nothing is happening. The more people are aware of problems like this, the more pressure there is on business owners to run a safe business and a safe bar,” Gallagher said.

Despite the new vision, some neighbors WRTV spoke to said they were still not convinced by the idea and wanted to close the site permanently.

Since the 1970s, a cabaret has been housed on the property.

However, the current owner has announced that he wants to give up the cabaret license and has committed himself never to open another such venue under his management.

They say they want to focus more on the food now and are working on expanding the kitchen.

The new sports bar with grill is planned to reopen in mid-August.

They are scheduled to hold a hearing on a liquor license at 9 a.m. on August 5 at the City-County Building.