Today, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2A applauded the favorable opinion in DC Court of Appeals Case No. 14-AA-830 “Acott Ventures, LLC T/A Shadow Room v. District Of Columbia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.” The Court of Appeals ruled against the Shadow Room, located at 2131 K Street NW, in their appeal of a previous Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board decision against the establishment. A copy of the Court of Appeals’ opinion on the matter can be found here.
As a result of ANC 2A’s protest of the Shadow Room’s Class “C” Nightclub license renewal application in 2013, the ABC Board had ordered that the Shadow Room must retain a Metropolitan Police Department police detail for every night that they operate, the result of many years of complaints from neighbors about disturbances from nightclub patrons.
Shadow Room appealed this ABC Board decision on several grounds, including allegations of discriminatory intent on the part of the protestants and arguments that the ABC Board exceeded its statutory authority in requiring a police detail. In the end, the Court of Appeals ruled against the establishment on every one of these grounds.
Pending any further appeal, the publishing of this Court of Appeals opinion means that the Shadow Room will be required to have a police detail for every night that they operate as a condition of their current liquor license.
ANC 2A believes that this Court of Appeals opinion is a major success for the Foggy Bottom and West End communities. This opinion is, in particular, a direct result of the many years of hard work put in by ANC 2A Commissioner Florence Harmon and the residents of the West End Place Condos. ANC 2A congratulates and thanks these individuals for their efforts.