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CLEVELAND (WJW) — Following a shooting at the Flats East Bank Sunday evening that sent six people to the hospital, FOX 8 News has learned that Flats East Development LLC has chosen to terminate Play Bar and Grill’s lease.
This comes after city of Cleveland declared the bar a nuisance and shut it down.
The development president George Kimson said in a letter that the property was repossessed, saying that “gun-related activity and acts of violence have caused us to take strong action as is spelled out in our lease with this tenant.”
It was reportedly not the first time an incident had occurred at or near the bar, according to a city notice to the bar’s owners. Three separate incidents happened in the last three months:
- Aug. 18: A report of fighting inside
- July 5: A report of a shooting inside
- June 6: A report of a patron pulling a gun on a valet
Cleveland police said they found 40 shell casings at the scene following the shooting Sunday. The suspected gunman was among those shot and wounded. The city took immediate action to board up the business under an “emergency” statute.
The ownership team at Play bar has filed a lawsuit against the city, the FOX 8 I-Team learned. They offered a statement to FOX 8 Thursday afternoon:
Play Bar and Grill is in receipt of the city of Cleveland’s Sept. 10, 2025 letter regarding alleged nuisance activities at its premises. This is the first written notice that we have received from the city regarding any alleged nuisance activities. More importantly, the various allegations cited by the city, including ‘multiple instances of felonious assault with firearms’ on Sept. 7 and ‘report of a shooting inside Play Bar and Grill’ on July 5 are unfounded.
Further, the City’s reliance upon such allegations to support the closure of Play Bar and Grill, without sufficient investigation, has resulted in harm to our business operations and reputation. As a result of the City’s actions, it has also come to our attention that the landlord for the premises, relying on the unfounded allegations of the city, is now seeking to terminate its relationship with Play Bar and Grill.
Although we have not received any official notification from the landlord, it is our intent to take all legal action necessary to protect our legal interest in the property.
For the last seven years, this location has operated as a Black-owned business serving a diverse clientele. The current ownership team took possession in April of this year. The incident on Sept. 7 was extremely unfortunate but not attributable to our operations. It is also not the first incident to occur in the flats or the downtown area. Our goal is to be treated in the same manner as other bars and restaurants when incidents occur, which typically involves due diligence and discussions with all individuals involved to reach conclusions based on fact rather than conjecture.
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Laura Morrison
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