Zora closes; owner Edwin Allen III files $10 million lawsuit against Des Moines

Des Moines restaurateur Edwin Allen III has closed his troubled Zora Bar & Rooftop nightclub and is demanding $10 million from the city, while a judge handling a separate case has sanctioned his attorney for frivolous legal filings.

Allen opened Zora, which reportedly cost $5 million to build, in 2021 at the corner of Ingersoll Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. The bar has been up for sale since March. In July, city officials sued to have it declared a public safety nuisance, citing several shootings, one of them fatal, and other assaults or riots on the property.

Allen is representing himself in the lawsuit. He has moved to dismiss the city's case and has filed a counterclaim seeking $10 million from the city, alleging "deprivation of rights under color of law."

"The filing of a civil equity action by the City of Des Moines was for the sole purpose of closing Zora Bar and Rooftop without any appeal or due process. Zora Bar Rooftop is now closed as a result of this malicious and (reckless) action," Allen wrote in the July 23 filing.

Can you countersue the city for suing you?

In response, the city has filed to dismiss Allen's counterclaim, saying the Iowa Constitution does not permit damages claims for alleged due process violations, and that in any case, it is not a due process violation for the city to file a civil action as authorized by the Legislature.

City attorneys suggest Allen also is mistakenly demanding damages from the city over a separate order by the state Alcoholic Beverage Division, effective July 13, requiring the bar to cease alcohol sales by 10 p.m..

In seeking to dismiss the case, Allen writes that "it is UNCONSCIONABLE to allow the city to make a business bankrupt simply by filing a complaint ... that restricts its hours and ability to make money. 95% of the revenue generated by this business is between 10 p.m.-2 a.m. and by allowing the city to move forward, it gives the City of Des Moines total control over every single licensed bar in the city without any sort of due process what so ever."

Under a new state law, the city is required to report the filing of a nuisance action to the ABD, which then must issue an order cutting off alcohol sales by 10 p.m. while the case is pending. Attorneys for the city say that because the order is from the ABD, not the city, Allen must pursue other administrative remedies if he wants to challenge it.

Neighbor says it's time for new ownership at Zora

It's not clear when or how Zora might reopen.

Allen had been scheduled to go before the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment on Wednesday, with a request to convert Zora from its restaurant status to a bar, which would allow more than 50% of the establishment’s revenue to come from the sale of alcoholic liquor, wine or beer. An audit showed the proportion of revenue from food sales is 34%.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the request to convert Zora was still on the board's agenda.

"We haven't received anything indicating they'd like to withdraw," said city spokesperson Peter Zemansky.

Nate Niceswanger, owner of Zzz Records, Zora’s neighbor to the west, has been on Ingersoll since 2000. He saw the building occupying the corner parcel, originally a Pizza Hut, change from a deli to an Irish bar and then the Waverly, another bar. It was closed in 2020 and demolished to make way for the much more elaborate Zora, with its two levels of rooftop decks.

“That corner has a lot of potential. I think there legitimately was some excitement when it opened up,” Niceswanger said, recalling Zora’s early days, when patrons would gather to watch football games in the restaurant.

Its large, garage-style glass doors were open in pleasant weather, and "you’d hear the roar of people coming from inside the bar. I thought, ‘Wow, this could really be something special,’” he said.

While Niceswanger has never had safety concerns for his own business, he said he’s ready for another owner to take over at Zora. The shootings and legal issues, plus health code violations, have soured its reputation, he added, and in the restaurant business, reputation is everything.

“Everyone will be glad when the next chapter comes along. I don’t know (Edwin Allen) personally, but I think we’re all ready to move on,” he said.

In housing case, Edwin Allen's lawyer sanctioned

The city's nuisance action isn't the only legal challenge Allen is facing. He's also been sued for allegedly pressuring a tenant in an apartment he owns for sex.

In that suit, plaintiff Cyndi Collins alleges Allen sexually harassed her, encouraged her to rent an apartment from him, then demanded she have sex with him in exchange for a reduction in her rent. When she refused, he reportedly attempted to evict her, and even after she moved out, she said, he found her new residence and told her new landlord she had committed tenancy violations.

Allen is represented by counsel in that case, but a recent court order found his lawyer had engaged in sanctionable misconduct. Attorney David Leitner filed a motion to dismiss Collins' complaint for allegedly failing to exhaust other administrative remedies. Unlike other types of discrimination complaints, though, housing complaints are governed by a separate law and have no such administrative requirements — something Collins' attorneys said they had told Leitner before he filed to dismiss the case.

In a July 19 order, Judge Paul Scott found Leitner was "acting in bad faith" and was "at a bare minimum negligent" in filing the frivolous motion, and ordered Leitner to pay Collins' attorney fees for having to respond. Her attorneys say that amounts to $1,290.

Leitner, who has represented Allen in several cases, has had his own share of controversy. A state discipline commission has recommended he be disbarred for financial and litigation misconduct in several cases. That action is pending before the Iowa Supreme Court.

Still more recent legal trouble for Allen

Still more legal cases against Allen are pending or recently have been resolved. Allen was cited in March for supplying alcohol to a person under 21 at Zora, but prosecutors filed in July to dismiss the case "in the interest of justice." And he and fellow restaurateur Steve McFadden, both charged with stalking, entered guilty pleas in April to other charges in a case that stemmed from the use of a hidden GPS tracking device to track the movements of a woman McFadden had been involved with romantically.

In addition, a former Zora server has sued Allen and the bar, alleging racial discrimination against Black workers and patrons. That case is set for trial next year.

As part of his plea deal to dismiss the stalking case, Allen also pleaded to disorderly conduct related to two disputes with tenants. In one case, Allen was accused of pounding on a door while the tenant was out and shouting at the tenant's minor children, while in the other he allegedly swore, threatened and used racial slurs against a tenant's relative during a phone conversation.

There also are questions about Allen's stewardship of residential rental properties. The Register reported Monday that at 1801 Pleasant St., an apartment building allegedly managed by Allen just down the street from the unit Collins rented, city inspectors have found 53 code violations in two years, only eight of which have been resolved.

Allen has denied managing the building, owned by Anthony Walker. But Allen has served as the city's main contact person for coordinating inspections, said city spokesperson Devin Perry.

Staff writers Francesca Block and Kevin Baskins contributed to this article.

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Edwin Allen III closes Zora, sues city of Des Moines for $10 million