Old Town club where a deadly shooting occurred earlier this year is closing

Almost four months after a deadly shooting at the Enigma Club & Lounge at 351 N. Mosley in Old Town, the business is closing.

Owner Ali Kibar said his decision to close wasn’t related to the shooting or the pandemic, which started almost as soon as he opened the business in December 2019.

Building co-owner Dave Burk has someone else who wants the space, Kibar said, and he said he didn’t mind leaving.

In October, police arrested Keshawn Maurice Dawson, who was suspected of firing shots through Enigma’s front glass doors in the early morning of Sept. 7 after he was kicked out of the club. The shooting injured several people and killed well-known local bartender Preston Spencer, who shielded his pregnant cousin from the shots.

New Year’s Eve is the last night for the club.

“It felt like it was, for me, the right thing to do now,” Kibar said.

He said he’s interested in opening another nightclub somewhere else.

Kibar said he learned a lot from operating Enigma, which he tried to make both a lounge and a nightclub. However, Kibar said he should have had food if he had a lounge. Next time, he said, the business will be more of a nightclub that opens at 9 p.m. and doesn’t try to be a lounge, too.

“I know better now what to do.”

Kibar said he’ll share news about his next business after he decides what and where it will be.

This story was originally published December 30, 2021 at 2:22 PM.