'Nuisance' nightclub closes in Bluffton after eviction
A Bluffton nightclub cited by law enforcement as a nuisance has closed after less than six months, according to the Bluffton Police Department.
Encore Lounge's owner, NGB LLC, was ordered to vacate 39 Persimmon St. on Jan. 2, according to a court document posted on the club's front door. By law, a property owner can eject tenants if they refuse to pay rent, violate their lease, or the lease has ended.
An attorney for property owner Braveship Financial, Robert Felix of the McNair Law Firm, declined to comment on the eviction Friday.
Bluffton police Capt. Joseph Manning said Encore Lounge's parking lot was often the scene of fights, drug activity, gunshots and other incidents since opening in July.
On Dec. 19, police cited owner Kip Woodard with running a "nuisance" business because of the number of calls for service to Encore Lounge, Lt. Joe Babkiewicz said.
The incidents continued over the following weeks.
In the early hours of Dec. 27, a 35-year-old man was shot in the leg outside the club, and stray bullets shattered one of Encore's glass doors.
Early Jan. 4, police pulled over a car leaving the club and arrested four men, charging them with unlawful possession of two guns, marijuana, cocaine and Xanax.
Woodard, of Hilton Head Island, didn't contest the nuisance citation in Bluffton Municipal Court on Jan. 6, according to court records. Attempts to reach him Friday were unsuccessful.
Follow reporter Rebecca Lurye at twitter.com/IPBG_Rebecca.
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This story was originally published January 16, 2015 at 7:54 PM with the headline "'Nuisance' nightclub closes in Bluffton after eviction."