The Spire owner says the nightclub followed coronavirus occupancy rules

Around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, officers were sent to the 1720 Main St nightclub in downtown Houston in reference to reports of a large rally. Upon arrival, it was observed that approximately 200 people were waiting in line outside the club. In addition to the influx on the outside, the club had exceeded its capacity on the inside, according to Houston police.

Truesdell said the club exceeded capacity after outside patrons threw an unguarded back door.

The club hosted an event called “All Black Affair” on Saturday night, according to the club’s website. An event poster included Larry Morrow, Trey Songz, Kenny Burns and Fabolous as some of the notable personalities expected to appear at the event. Officers said some attendees at the event traveled from San Antonio and New Orleans to attend.

“When a couple of artists showed up, the people behind them, their fans and just people on the street bombarded the doors and the fire commissioner was in the office with us,” Truesdell said.

Truesdell said the fire commissioner was present to make sure the club did not exceed its assigned occupation. The building has a maximum capacity of 1,200 people, Truesdell said. According to Governor Abbott’s Executive Order GA-32, the club is allowed to be open to 50% of its maximum capacity: 600 patrons. Truesdell added that after the crowd rushed to the back door, the security of the club could not keep track of the number of people inside the building.

He said at that time the fire commissioner made the decision to close the club for the night.

“I wasn’t comfortable with the amount of people who had bombed the door and walked in,” Truesdell said. “We didn’t have a proper count, exactly, because when we got there we had a proper count. Our count was in line with what it should have been when I was there. We would never have bombed ourselves if we had had sheriffs from the Harris County working at night ”.

To stop the crowd, Truesdell said, security placed a barricade at the door. This violated the fire code, as it limited the number of safe exits available in the event of an emergency.

“It didn’t provide a safe way out for people to leave the club,” Truesdell said. “That’s why we shut up.”

Truesdell said the club was cited for rape.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverages Commission said Monday in a prepared statement that it was “investigating the events that took place at the Spire Club this weekend. If the investigation finds evidence of a violation, the agency could evaluate such a sanction.” as specified on GA-32.In the meantime, we will continue to work with our local partners in the city of Houston and Harris County to ensure the safety of all residents and visitors. “

Spire had previously been suspended for violations of the governor’s executive order, according to the agency:

• First suspension: July 1-9, 2020

• Second suspension: from 20 to 23 October 2020

Enforcement of employment restrictions has remained a tense issue since they were implemented, and some question whether the authorities enforce the rules.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Monday that he is not exclusively focused on closing an establishment, but will do so if he encourages events that could potentially lead to the spread of COVID-19.

Turner added that the city would look more closely at establishments in the area.

“I want to let people know, at different clubs and bars, on Washington Avenue, you’re already warning me,” Turner said. “I’ll tell you early.”

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to any requests for comment.