DEARBORN — Nar Bar has officially closed its doors.

The west Dearborn bar located at 21918 Michigan Ave. shut operations on Wednesday, October 12, following weeks of scrutiny from the City Council and Dearborn Police, stemming from a rash of violent encounters at the business.

In a surprising move, owner Mohamed Rizk decided to close down the establishment without much warning. 

Steve George, the attorney representing Nar Bar, told The AANews in a statement that the landlord, Najib Rizk, bought out the lease from his brother. 

“The decision to close was a decision made between the landlord and the operator,” George said. “The landlord bought the lease with the intention to evaluate what other opportunities they had at the location.”

The bar, which opened in 2014, had originally gained a solid reputation as a neighborhood bar and restaurant. But in recent months, frequent 911 calls to the location had cast a dark cloud over the business. 

That all culminated last month after 29-year-old Mario Amison and 24-year-old Allante Percy were charged in connection with a shooting in the bar’s parking lot.

The Dearborn Police Department claimed that on numerous occasions it has had to direct all of its on-duty officers to the bar in response to a string of violent encounters.

The City Council had also begun preparing a review process that could’ve resulted in the revocation of the bar’s liquor license. 

Nar Bar is the second business on Michigan Ave. that has closed in recent months. Earlier this year, Liv Lounge was also subjected to scrutiny from the city as a result of rowdy crowds who visited the business, resulting in a routine police presence. 

But after what police described as “dangerous” incidents that included gun violence, sexual assaults and gang-related activity, that bar also voluntarily closed its doors.

West Dearborn business owners grow angry

In recent months, The AANews spoke to numerous Arab American business owners in the city who have expressed their discontent with city leaders and with ordinances that have impacted their businesses.

One local business owner on Michigan Ave., who wished to remain anonymous because he fears the city, “will close me down just like how they closed down Liv”, is making claims that officials are targeting business owners based on ethnicity.

“If you look at the big picture, every business owner they’ve taken down is an Arab owner,” said the local businessman.

The business owner added that city officials have been giving local businesses a hard time ever since the approved Ford Development plan that is aiming to tear down and replace many of the existing vacant businesses.

“The fact is, they are constantly harassing the same people over and over,” he added. “They are after Arabs in west Dearborn. Ford is coming and they want to get us out of there, as fast as possible.”

The man said that in the last year, business has been down more than 50 percent at his location. He blames city officials and the Dearborn police for giving his business, and other bars in the area, a “bad rep” due to the violent surge in the area.

Following a series of incidents at Liv Lounge, the city conducted a routine revocation hearing for a majority of the bars in west Dearborn to determine whether they took issue with their liquor licenses. 

The businessman claims that this gave the perception that the bars in the area were dangerous, impacting traffic drastically. 

“The fact that the city used my name along with the other bars, it tarnished our name,” he said. “We’ve never had a problem. There are millions of bars across America. Two people will argue about the dumbest thing. It could be about a football game. But we’ve never had a violent situation escalate at this location. We don’t over-serve alcohol or allow underage drinking, yet they always want to come after the small guy.” 

The man said he’s looking to sell his business within the next three months and move to a city “that is welcoming to business owners”, despite investing more than $300,000 at his Dearborn location.  He added that other businesses owners are also fed up with the city and will be moving out soon.

Councilman Mike Sareini debunked the accusation that the city is targeting Arab businesses, arguing that officials are trying to find a balance between keeping the neighborhoods safe and allowing a thriving business district.

“There’s an issue when shots are being fired at other people and suspects are running through neighborhoods with guns and running from the police,” Sareini said. “It’s the job of the Council to keep our citizens safe. We are dealing with major issues that we need to put a stop to, so we can have a safe neighborhood and a conductive business district.” 

A “nuisance ordinance” has already gone through a first reading at City Council and will most likely be approved, which will give the city freedom to ticket businesses if there is a recurring issue. 

Sareini said that since his start on City Council in 2014, the city’s goal was to re-energize the district. He said the City Council has adapted new rulings that were positive contributions to the area, including eliminating paid parking and filling vacant buildings. 

He reiterated the immense contribution of the local Arab community, adding that it was one that the city couldn’t afford to lose. 

“Without Arab American businesses, the city would be in grave danger,” Sareini said. “It’s a victory to the residents to get the Ford project in west Dearborn. It doesn’t discount the work the Arab American community has done since day one. The small businesses have thankfully thrived throughout the years and we want to make sure we do everything possible to continue to have them succeed.”