New club could open in ‘derelict’ Smethwick bar just months after discovery of £300,000 cannabis farm

Kastriot Haxhiaj has applied to Sandwell Council to open the new West Side Lounge on the first floor of the former Avenue Bar and Grill in Rolfe Street, Smethwick.

The cannabis farm was discovered in August – just a year after the club closed down when it was the scene of an attempted murder following an early-hours shooting.

The new application asks for permission to sell alcohol and play live and recorded music at the venue every day from 8am to 3am.

The proposed opening hours are 8am to 3.30am every day.

West Midlands Police carried out a raid at the former bar and grill on August 1 finding 300 cannabis plants, money and an imitation gun hidden inside a printer.

A 22-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of producing cannabis, possession with intent to supply drugs and possession of an imitation firearm but later bailed pending further enquiries.

Avenue Bar and Grill had its licence revoked by Sandwell Council in July 2024 after the shooting.

According to the report from Sandwell Council, the bar’s licence was suspended on June 18 pending a full investigation. West Midlands Police called for the licence to be revoked.

Jack Kabeya was one of three men identified by police over the attempted murder at the bar and grill on June 17.

After learning of an associate’s arrest, the 21-year-old Kabeya, who had previous convictions for drugs and knife offences, fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo using his brother’s passport.

He was arrested at Gatwick Airport on his return from Qatar around three weeks later.

Last October, Kabeya, of Kitchener Road, Selly Park, admitted at Birmingham Crown Court to two charges of possessing someone else’s identity document with intent and was sentenced to 22 months in prison.