Club Extasis, the nondescript Grand Avenue night club where Orr-Reed owner John Hargrove was brutally beaten to death in the early hours one January morning, has always had a vacant look to it, at least during the daytime. The bars across the door were a permanent fixture, and the neon sign, just "eXtasis" in a minute scrawl, seemed broken.
But now it's closed for real. I noticed the "For Lease" sign when I was passing by last weekend and, sure enough, records with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission show that its alcohol license was cancelled on February 4. We have a call into TABC's Arlington office for additional details about the agency's investigation, but a complaint report shows that the license was pulled for an "aggravated breach" on January 26, which means the club was conducting business in such a way as to allow serious bodily injury or death.
January 26 was the date police say Hargrove was struck with fists, a chair and pool cues before 23-year-old Frederico Prado finished him off with several kicks to the head.
Club Extasis was also cited for a "place and manner" violation, a category that includes gambling, prostitution, obscenity, city code violations and other unspecified infractions.
And it's not like run-ins with the TABC were anything new for Club Extasis. The bar has been investigated six times over the 17 months leading up to Hargrove's death, and they were penalized on three occasions. I've left a message for the owners and will update when I hear back.
