Purple Haze/Facebook
A court ruled last week that the Purple Haze Nightclub can serve alcohol until 5 a.m., the conclusion of a two-year lawsuit.
Owners of Beale Street’s Club 152 sued Purple Haze owners in April 2016 to stop alcohol sales there at 3 a.m. Club 152 owners argued Purple Haze was not in the Beale Street Historic District and, therefore, could not sell alcohol until 5 a.m., like Beale Street clubs. The suit was dismissed in the Shelby County Chancery Court last week.
Purple Haze officials said the suit was “politically and monetarily motivated.” The club is located on Lt. George W. Lee Ave. across from the Gibson Beale Street Showcase venue and just down the street from FedExForum.
The club can now continue operations and sell alcohol until 5 a.m. “like every other business located in the Beale Street Historic District,” according to Edward Bearman, attorney for Purple Haze.
[pullquote-1] “Our position from the beginning was this suit had no merit,” Bearman said in a statement Thursday. “Purple Haze is finally vindicated in the matters of this lawsuit.”
A club spokesman said the two-year suit involved the Beale Street Merchants Association, the city of Memphis, and the Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC). The city and the DMC argued against later serving hours for the club last year, according to a story from WREG.
“I have been very confident in the judicial system to prevail in our favor,” said Pat Thomasson, owner of Purple Haze Nightclub. “I will continue to offer quality entertainment to the area and am pleased to be able to continue our operations until 5 a.m. I am glad this is behind us…”
A quick Google news search finds a recent string of violence in and around Purple Haze.
A Christmas-morning shooting sent one man to Regional One Health.
In March, a peace activist was shot and killed near the club.
A double shooting there in March sent a man a woman to Reiognal One.
In April, the club announced on social media it would stop playing “hard rap” in hopes of curbing violence. The Facebook post said the issue is “black on black crime outside the club that we cannot control.” Purple Haze owners were criticized for the post, apologized for it, and removed it.
In May, a fight inside the club continued outside when a man tried to run over another man with his car.
In June, a brawl inside the bar led to pregnant woman being punched in the stomach.
