Savannah council revokes Octane Lounge alcohol license, sets conditions for possible reinstatement

The Savannah City Council voted after a special show-cause hearing to revoke the alcohol license for Octane Bar and Lounge, the downtown business at 35 Whitaker Street, and imposed a set of conditions that must be met before the license could be considered for reinstatement.

Council convened the quasi-judicial proceeding to hear evidence about a string of police reports and two shootings on Aug. 24 and Aug. 30 that investigators said involved people who had frequented the establishment. Assistant City Attorney Denise Cooper led the presentation of city witnesses, who described repeated complaints and enforcement activity tied to the business.

Sergeant Scott Richards of the Savannah Police Department’s alcohol unit told the council the ABC unit received complaints in early June 2024 and conducted an underage buy on June 9 that resulted in three citations related to the incident. Richards testified that video reviews and follow-up investigations produced additional citations to the licensee for the unlawful presence of people under 21 and for failing to follow the venue’s security plan. "The ABC unit received several complaints on June 1st, 2nd, and 3rd…we conducted an underage buy on June 9th at 35 Whitaker Street, where a CI was allowed to enter, purchase alcohol, and was not carded," Richards said.

Sergeant Prenicia Banks, who supervised the ABC unit’s case file, told the council she compiled about 27–30 incident reports tied to the location dating back to the business’s opening. Those reports included assaults, fights, firearms incidents, drug complaints, thefts and disorderly conduct. Banks said two of the underage-presence incidents the city cited were related to the shootings in August and that administrative meetings were held with the owner earlier this year.

Defense attorney Donovan Julius and the owner, Raj Patel, disputed that violence occurred inside the establishment. Julius acknowledged the shootings were tragic but said his client cooperated with investigators by turning over video evidence and had taken corrective steps after the June meetings, including hiring off-duty officers when possible, instructing more active camera monitoring and committing to an ID-scanning system. "He’s a small business owner…he’s willing to work with the city and the police," Julius told the council. Patel himself said he had fired the manager and other staff linked to the problems and "take[s] the blame for it. Absolutely."

Councilmembers noted the council’s statutory authority under the city’s alcohol ordinance to deny, suspend or revoke licenses where operations pose a threat to public safety or where violations recur. City counsel told the body that council’s sanctions can range from immediate reinstatement to permanent revocation, with intermediate options to set a suspension period and conditions for reinstatement.

After deliberation, council members agreed by voice vote to revoke the license for the remainder of the year and to attach conditions that the owner must complete before any reinstatement: meet with the ABC team to implement a security plan, enter a good-neighbor agreement with the neighborhood association, verify that all employees are new and that a responsible licensee is on-site (or a designated responsible person is present), use duly certified off-duty law-enforcement officers with jurisdiction in Savannah for security, adopt modified operating hours during a probationary period (midnight Sunday–Thursday, 1 a.m. Friday–Saturday), and submit to monthly check-ins with the alcohol beverage team for six months.

The motion passed by voice vote; a council member stated they would abstain from voting because of a late arrival but no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript.

The council recessed for a short break after the vote. The revocation takes effect following the council’s order and will be reconsidered only if the owner meets the conditions the council set.