COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- An illegal afterhours club on the West Side is being shut down after racking up 171 police incidents over the past two years.
Sabor Latino, located at 3415 South Boulevard in the Great Western shopping center, was issued a court order to board up the club for the next year. The site was forcibly closed due to overcrowding in November by the Columbus Division of Fire, one day after reports of a shooting at the same spot, a news release from the city attorney's office said. Sabor Latino was banned from operating, but police found hundreds of cars in the parking lot on Dec. 9.
Sabor Latino has been the site of numerous police calls, including reports of rape, assault, drug use, breaking and entering, theft, fights and shots fired. The city's Property Action Team also noted the club does not have a liquor license but continued selling alcohol illegally and afterhours.
Court documents note that the address for Sabor Latino is not clearly marked, nor is the bar's name. Nevertheless, court documents show investigators have tracked the club's growth with increasing incidents at the premises. In June, officers with the Ohio Investigative Unit purchased alcohol from the bar and observed its operations, despite the club not having a liquor license. Among its 171 incidents in the past two years, many have happened in 2024, including multiple reports of assault, cocaine use and at least one shooting.
Columbus does have two other Sabor Latinos, a restaurant and a combination bakery and grocery store. Neither is connected to the illegal club, simply operating under the same name, Sabor Latino, which means "Latin flavor."
