Photo by Flickr user Andrew Bossi

This post has been updated.

Mood Lounge, which on Tuesday had its liquor license suspended in the wake of a incident outside its doors last week in which two people were stabbed, will have its day in front of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board FridayJanuary 13 at 9 a.m.

The hearing comes after an investigation by the board that shed more light into what exactly happened at Mood Lounge, located at 1318 9th Street NW, in the early hours of December 30. Though the stabbings, which left both victims with critical but non-life-threatening injuries, happened outside, board investigators found that there had been an altercation inside the establishment. Mood’s security officers removed those involved in the scuffle. The victims of the stabbing, which took place shortly after the brawl, were identified as a performer and a promoter for the venue. But what’s more notable about the victims is that one of them is under 21, the investigators found.

Other details released by the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration might be just as damning for Mood Lounge, and in some cases, quite laughable. According to the notice that came with the indefinite suspension of her liquor license, Mood Lounge owner Abebe Beyene told investigators that her security system had been malfunctioning the evening of the stabbing incident and that none of her employees had witnessed the chain of events. But the investigation found that the security cameras were not malfunctioning, just not saving the recordings of what was happening as the security system’s hard drive was full.

Then there was the security guard investigators interviewed, who identified pools of blood spilled at Mood Lounge’s door as “cranberry juice.” (Though blood and cranberry juice are close in color, their viscosities are, well, noticeably different.)

Beyene, who did not respond to phone calls, requested a hearing before the control board, which was originally scheduled to take place tomorrow. But Mood Lounge’s neighbors in Shaw are hoping against the venue being allowed to reopen.

Michael Benardo, who represents the area on Advisory Neighborhood Council 2F, said he and others “were really happy” to see Mood be shut indefinitely on Tuesday night. Benardo said he walked past the establishment last night and saw people working inside, but they appeared to be repairmen installing some kind of wiring.

UPDATE 3:50 p.m.: Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), who after the stabbings said he wanted to see Mood Lounge shut down, hopes to see some resolution with next week’s ABC board hearing.

“I don’t know ABC is in a position to do that,” Evans said this afternoon. “If not, I hope they suspend the license for a good long time. Short of that, I hope they impose onerous restrictions that prevent [Mood Lounge] from doing business for a good long time.”

Evans said the situation with Mood Lounge, which has also been the subject of numerous complaints ranging from excessive noise to improper trash disposal to public urination by its customers, had reached the point of no return: “I’m upset. The neighbors are upset. We’ve sent them letters, but to no avail.”

The council member said his push to close Mood Lounge shouldn’t be taken as some kind of personal feud, just that he is ready to see the nightspot go away.

“We have 51 percent of liquor licenses in Ward 2 and most of them are good operators,” he said. “It’s not like we’re picking on Mood Lounge. I don’t have any warnings left.”

Mood Lounge Notice of Summary Suspension – Alcoholic Beverage Control Board