CLEVELAND — The developer of the Flats East Bank project said it has terminated the lease for Play Bar & Grill following multiple incidents, including a Sunday shooting that happened near the business.
Flats East Development LLC said it warned the bar's owners in July that gun-related activity and violence violated the terms of the company's lease. In a written statement, the landlord cited "a number of incidents" that took place "at or near" the bar this summer.
The developer sent a second violation notice to Play Bar & Grill in August, after another incident. That's according to a statement issued by George Kimson, the president of Flats East Development LLC.
After Sunday's shooting in the area, the City of Cleveland boarded up the bar.
Police said there were multiple guns involved. Six people were injured. One of them was a man who was arrested in connection with the shooting.
Play Bar & Grill's response
Play Bar & Grill's ownership team sent out the following statement about the termination of their lease on Thursday afternoon:
"Play Bar and Grill is in receipt of the City of Cleveland's September 10, 2025 letter regarding alleged nuisance activities at its premises. This is the first written notice that we have received from the City regarding any alleged nuisance activities. More importantly, the various allegations cited by the City, including "multiple instances of felonious assault with firearms" on September 7th and "report of a shooting inside Play Bar and Grill" on July 5th are unfounded. Further, the City's reliance upon such allegations to support the closure of Play Bar and Grill, without sufficient investigation, has resulted in harm to our business operations and reputation. As a result of the City's actions, it has also come to our attention that the landlord for the premises, relying on the unfounded allegations of the City, is now seeking to terminate its relationship with Play Bar and Grill. Although we have not received any official notification from the landlord, it is our intent to take all legal action necessary to protect our legal interest in the property.
For the last seven years, this location has operated as a black-owned business serving a diverse clientele. The current ownership team took possession in April of this year. The incident on September 7th was extremely unfortunate but not attributable to our operations. It is also not the first incident to occur in the flats or the downtown area. Our goal is to be treated in the same manner as other bars and restaurants when incidents occur, which typically involves due diligence and discussions with all individuals involved to reach conclusions based on fact rather than conjecture."
Cleveland's law director explained the decision to close the bar at a press conference on Monday:
Now the landlord has cut the bar's lease short and taken back the corner retail space at West 10th Street and Front Avenue. On Thursday morning, a News 5 crew saw workers removing boards from the windows and doors.
"We have always worked with the City of Cleveland in order to provide a place where people can live, work and play without fear of danger," Kimson wrote in his statement.
Read Kimson's full statement below:
"Flats East Development, LLC, in collaboration with a full range of public partners, is the original developer of the area known as the Flats East Bank.
We have always worked with the City of Cleveland in order to provide a place where people can live, work and play without fear of danger. Unfortunately, over the course of this summer a number of incidents occurring at or near one of our tenants, the Play Bar and Grill, has made the situation especially challenging for us, as well as neighboring establishments. Gun-related activity and acts of violence have caused us to take strong action as is spelled out in our lease with this tenant.
In July, we advised the owners of the Play Bar and Grill that these activities violated the terms of their lease. We asked for immediate action to remedy this situation. A second notice was sent to the owner in August when another incident occurred.
The use of multiple guns on the afternoon of Sunday, September 7 reinforced the need for us to take action, in concert with the Cleveland Police Department. The City immediately boarded up the restaurant and we terminated the lease and have retaken possession of the property.
The popularity of the Flats shows that Greater Clevelanders value a place where they can enjoy river views, watch boats on the Cuyahoga, listen to music, and eat and drink in a safe, lively environment. Together with other property owners and numerous hospitality venues on the east bank, we look forward to continuing to work closely with the City of Cleveland and its safety services to address traffic and crowd concerns, and to ensure the best possible experience for the City, its residents, business owners, staff, and visitors to the Flats."
Flats East Development LLC, which started as a joint venture between the Wolstein Group and another local developer, built the 23-acre riverfront neighborhood and entertainment district.
Wolstein Group CEO Scott Wolstein died in 2022, at age 69. Now the ownership of the Flats East Bank is fragmented.
The Play Bar & Grill space is located in the first phase of the project, on a block that also includes the Aloft Cleveland Downtown hotel, the Oswald Tower office building, a gym and a few restaurants.
"Together with other property owners and numerous hospitality venues on the east bank, we look forward to continuing to work closely with the City of Cleveland and its safety services to address traffic and crowd concerns, and to ensure the best possible experience for the City, its residents, business owners, staff and visitors to the Flats," Kimson wrote on Thursday.
In addition to serving as president of Flats East Development, Kimson is the chief operating officer of Heritage Development Company, a real estate firm led by Iris Wolstein, Scott Wolstein's mother.
David Hill, one of Play Bar & Grill’s co-owners, said earlier this week that he was frustrated with the city’s decision to board up the bar. He acknowledged that the business called the fire department for help with overcrowding, but he said the shooting had nothing to do with them.
"I've never seen anything like this in the history of Cleveland, where you can just board up a place publicly, embarrass and lie on the business," Hill told anchor Damon Maloney.
RELATED: Play Bar and Grill co-owner pushes back after city boards it up
Hill said the shooters were not patrons of Play Bar & Grill.
“At no point were they in here,” Hill said.
Emily Ramirez, a bartender, said she was inside the bar when the shooting happened.
"People ran back into Play because it was somewhere safe," she said.
Ramirez said she is unaware of any incidents happening inside the bar. She has worked at the bar since it opened this spring.
She believes both the city's decision to shut down the bar and the landlord's decision to terminate the lease are racially motivated.
"In the flats, there is no other bar that is Black-owned at all," she said. "They are fabricating things. At this point, they cannot back it up at all."
News 5 Investigators requested police reports related to other incidents at the bar and more information about the shooting.
It has yet to receive the reports.
On Wednesday afternoon, a City Hall spokesperson pointed to language in the city's charter and its nuisance laws as grounds for taking swift action to board up the business.
"While unfortunate, this was necessary to uphold the community's safety and well-being - a decision made based on safety and safety alone, nothing else," the city representative wrote in an email.
