Hotshots Bar and Grill reopens after liquor license suspension

Hotshots Bar and Grill reopened Monday, April 17, following a 10-day liquor license suspension.

The suspension was handed down by the Cape Girardeau Liquor License Review Board on March 30 in the wake of a March 4 shooting on the premises, where five people were injured and three were taken into custody.

The suspension was initially for 21 days but upon appeal was reduced to 10 by the board because Hotshots took steps to sure up security.

Owner Matt Hotop said the downtown bar and grill has done "a lot of things to make things as safe as possible for everyone."

Hotshots has doubled the security force, added a metal detector at the one entry point and restricted alternative entry and exits with alarms to prevent someone from sneaking weapons in through side doors. There is also now a one-way exit gate.

Hotop said at the March board meeting that Hotshots would be very strict with bans for acts of violence and is utilizing an ID scan app to prevent banned people from entering the business.