Raleigh bar temporarily shut down over pattern of violence dating back to 2020
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- Raleigh police partnered with ALE to take civil action against StarBar.
- Complaint: 15 shooting incidents at StarBar since July 2020, one of which killed a man.
- Restraining order for 10 days; preliminary injunction to extend terms of TRO.
A Wake County judge has issued a temporary restraining order against the owners of a southeast Raleigh nightclub, forcing the business to close for at least 10 days.
The N.C. Department of Public Safety announced the restraining order Thursday. The Raleigh Police Department asked N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) in April for help with civil action against StarBar, located off Trawick Road, the Department of Public Safety said.
Calls for service to StarBar document at least 15 shooting incidents at the nightclub since July 2020, according to the complaint filed by the city of Raleigh and the state. ALE revoked StarBar’s alcohol license in October 2020, days after a man was killed in a shooting at the bar, The News & Observer previously reported.
At the time, ALE said StarBar averaged more than 100 police calls per year. ALE revoked StarBar’s alcohol license again in April 2025 after rapper OMB Peezy, who was performing at the bar, had his car shot at, ABC11, The N&O’s newsgathering partner, reported.
StarBar also has a long history of controlled substance violations, fights and assaults on its premises, the Department of Public Safety said.
“North Carolina’s nuisance abatement laws give our agents and local leaders the authority to address properties that become havens for persistent crime and violence,” ALE Director Bryan House said. “The repeated incidents coupled with a lack of responsible oversight at this business created conditions that the residents of Raleigh should not have to endure.”
Superior Court Judge Bryan Collins Jr. signed the restraining order upon request from the city and the state, court records show. It states:
- StarBar’s owners — Giovanni McDougald, Cheyenne McDougald and Traunz Xavier Carter — cannot operate the business. Cheyenne is Giovanni’s mother.
- StarBar’s owners and the owner of the property who leases to StarBar, HM & HN, cannot grant or sell the property to someone else.
- All nuisance-related activity — which state law says can include homicides, assaults, and knowledge of illegal drug sales or lewd matter — at the property must cease.
Raleigh police and ALE previously notified HM & HN and StarBar of a nuisance abatement investigation in 2020, according to the complaint. A meeting took place on August 10, 2021, to address the agencies’ concerns.
Raleigh and the state are looking for a preliminary injunction to force StarBar to close until a jury trial, according to the complaint. The hearing is scheduled for May 14 at 9:30 a.m.
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