DAYTON, Ohio (WKEF) — Rabbit Hole Books and Lisse Beauty Bar closed after public nuisance notification from the City of Dayton.
The city of Dayton provided a copy of the nuisance report that was filed following an inspection of the West First Street structure on February 19th. The violations included exposed electrical wiring, damage to the facade, no fire alarm system, extensive damage to rebar within the concrete, and several others.
However, business owners in the building said they’ve never heard of these issues until now.
“We had, at the building owner’s expense, a couple of structural evaluations done by structural engineers who found that although the building could use a little TLC, it is perfectly safe,” said Larkin Vonalt, Executive Director of the Dayton Book Fair.
Vonalt was preparing to reopen Rabbit Hole this week following a fire in the neighboring parking garage, but with this nuisance order, their timeline for reopening is completely unknown.
“We really embrace Dayton and downtown Dayton in particular and this feels like we’re trying to be forced out,” Vonalt added.
Jane Scott, Owner of Lisse Beauty Bar, has eight stylists that work for her who she said are at risk of losing everything.
“One of the things I said to them, there’s no more wrong with this garage than it was eight and a half years ago when I got here. Now my girls are unemployed and if they don’t pay their bills, they’re going to be homeless, and they had no answer. All they could say was this building’s going to collapse,” Scott explained.
On Friday afternoon, Vonalt and Scott organized a “read-in” peacefully protesting the closure of their businesses in what they said seemed like a targeted effort by the city.
“We are determined to fight this. We have a right to be here. We have a lease. We’ve been here for three years. It’s been very peaceful,” Vonalt expressed.
“I want to know why we were targeted and why now after all of this time, as I said, I’ve been here eight and a half years, and I can’t continue. If I don’t have any girls, then I don’t have a business,” Scott said.
According to the city, updates will be posted as needed, but in the meantime, Rabbit Hole and Lisse Beauty Bar said they are relying on continued support from the community.
