Just days after a shooting outside the Watusi Lounge at 46th & Walnut , L&I shut the bar down last month, citing a bad food license as the reason. Gunshots also rang out near the bar back in April.

Watusi Lounge

Candycane notices

The late August escapade began with an argument inside the bar which then escalated and drifted outside, CBS reported police as saying. Two days before the shooting, the University City Review published a piece on efforts by Walnut Hill and Spruce Hill neighbors to shut down Watutsi II at 45th & Locust, which is (as you might imagine) owned by the same guy who owns Watusi Lounge. According to the story, members of both the Spruce Hill Community Association and the Walnut Hill Community Association met with city officials and representatives to voice their concerns. Last year, Philly.com wrote about how the bar enraged locals by generating noise before and after closing time. 

Watusi II

In December 2011, Watusi II was for sale after it had been shut down. The owner, Noel Karasanyi, also owns the blighted-looking New Third World Lounge at 49th & Baltimore. According to public record, Karasanyi owes tens of thousands of dollars in back taxes, and according to this story he owes additional business tax money to the City as well.

We passed by both Watusi locations last week and both remained closed down. With all this time having passed, we wonder whether they’ll ever open their doors again. And if they don’t, it seems that there are quite a few neighbors who won’t mourn their passing.

–Lou Mancinelli