It is nearly impossible, absent failure to pay licensing fees, to get a bar/restaurant’s liquor license revoked in DC once they’ve been issued. Still, it happens every few years, and the latest takeaway is: don’t clean up the blood on the sidewalk in front of your spot after your security guy shot someone and not call the cops.

On February 6th, DC’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) revoked the liquor license of west African restaurant/bar Moi Moi, located at 16th and K NW in DC after a shooting incident on January 9th led the ABCA Board to determine that “ownership has demonstrated that it cannot be trusted to safely superintend a business and appropriately respond to violent crime.”

This was not the first shooting incident with Moi Moi. On May 24 2022, the restaurant hosted a private event; a fight ensued and someone shot a gun inside. The bar immediately closed, but apparently no one called the police. A patron stopped a MPD officer patrolling, and the Secret Service had noticed a blood trail going directly into the restaurant. After the spot was closed immediately, they settled with DC government and reopened after 5 weeks. On June 29, 2022, the agreement was accepted by the ABCA board, which required Moi Moi to get an approved “security plan” for private events, not allow anyone including security to bring guns into the bar, report immediately any violent incidents to MPD, and preserve any crime scene. The spot was also fined $3,000.

Fast forward to 2:30am the morning of Tuesday, January 9, 2024. Two patrons at Moi Moi were having some sort of argument when a Moi Moi security person (not in uniform/markings) broke it up and ending up kicking one of them out. The ejected patron, and apparently a friend of his, fought with the security guy on the sidewalk. The security guy, who had a gun, shoots it, and the two patrons run away, with owner/chef Howsoon Cham watching from the window. The security guy comes back in, saying he shot someone. Then Cham “runs back to the scene of the fight with a bucket and towel … to clean the area where the fight occurred and … where the blood spatter was located,” spending a couple minutes cleaning.

No one calls the police. Over two hours later, around 5am, MPD officers arrive and start searching the sidewalk and street with flashlights, ending up seeing blood outside. They knock on the door, no one answers; and they breach the door. A few people were still inside – one person said they were asked not to answer the door. The head of security admitted that he had a concealed weapon

Excerpt in more detail here:

Based on this, the Board revoked the license, saying Moi Moi “failed to properly and lawfully respond to a violent fight and shooting, thus endangering the public and jeopardizing patron safety.” Stating ” ownership failed to comply with specific weapons requirements imposed by the Board; failed to notify police regarding the incident; and that the ownership intentionally destroyed evidence related to the crimes that occurred in and around the premises.” Cham claimed that he didn’t calllMPD because he believed a patron called for help, but there was no evidence of this and the Board said it didn’t matter if they did.

Board said that each of these warranted revocation on their own because:

“The mere presence of a gun endangers the safety of security, patrons, and bystanders. Moreover, the display of a firearm by a non-uniformed person could confuse bystanders and cause a panic if bystanders believe an active shooter, mass shooting incident, gun fight, or similar situation is occurring … participants in a verbal or physical dispute observing a firearm may believe that deadly violence is called for; especially, if the person wielding the weapon is not easily identifiable as security. As a result, the violation in this case put everyone in the establishment in immediate danger.”

“immediate reporting of violent incidents is an important security procedure because such actions may prevent persons involved from returning to the premises to engage in retaliation”

“It is important for licensees to prevent the spoilation of crime scenes because such a failure could lead to the spoilation of evidence and prevent the prosecution of violent criminals. Moreover, such an action on the part of the ownership demonstrates an intent to hide crime and impede law enforcement investigations. This conclusion is bolstered by the Respondent’s violation history, which shows a prior violation for interfering with an investigation and demonstrates the likelihood that these types of violations will likely occur in the future if the Respondent is permitted to continue to operate”

The Board considered that the security guy was engaged in self-defense, but said that did not matter: “the use of force does not excuse or have any relation to the illegal presence of a firearm in violation of a Board Order, the failure to notify the police of the incident, and the ownership’s illegal cleaning of the crime scene, which destroy any trust that the Board may have in the owner to respond appropriately to violent incidents in the future.”

The decision, which may be appealed via a motion of reconsideration, or a lawsuit in DC Court of Appeals, was not unanimous. Chair Donavan Anderson said that he would have allowed Moi Moi to stay open with its entertainment endorsement rescinded and requiring closure at midnight.

The restaurant remains open, but cannot sell booze. Social media posts indicate that it has a late night food menu::