Nova ScotiaProposed disciplinary action against a popular downtown Halifax bar is on hold as the company that owns the business — and several other downtown establishments — tries to avoid bankruptcy.Grafton Connor Group, which owns the Dome Nightclub, is $23.7 million in debtJosh Hoffman · CBC News · Posted: Sep 05, 2025 5:58 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours agoThe Dome Nightclub is one of several bars owned by the Grafton Connor Group, which was put under Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act protection last month. (Josh Hoffman/CBC)Proposed disciplinary action against a popular downtown Halifax bar is on hold as the company that owns the business — and several other downtown establishments — tries to avoid bankruptcy.The Dome Nightclub, which is owned by the Grafton Connor Group, is facing a potential suspension of its liquor licence by Nova Scotia’s Alcohol, Gaming, Fuel and Tobacco Division in relation to several alleged violations.The nightclub appealed the proposed seven-day suspension that would have taken place during the last weekend of July and part of the Natal Day weekend, allowing the bar to stay open.However, the Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board agreed to adjourn the matter during a hearing last week after the Grafton Connor Group was placed under Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act protection in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax.The company is $23.7 million in debt, including more than $5 million owed to the Canada Revenue Agency in unpaid HST, according to court documents. Other bars the Grafton Connor Group owns in the downtown core include 5 Fishermen, Auction House and Grafton Street Dinner Theatre. The company has approximately 400 employees across all its locations, which are valued at roughly $17 million, court documents said.The accounting firm MNP has been appointed as the monitor for the company and the court extended creditor protection until mid-October during a hearing on Aug. 29.Alleged violationsThe Alcohol, Gaming, Fuel and Tobacco Division alleges staff at the Dome Nightclub made several violations of the Liquor Control Act on the night of June 6, 2024. Staff members allegedly served alcohol to a minor and allowed employees to drink while they were working, according to the division. They also improperly dispensed liquor, selling liquor not in a glass, and allowed activity that was “detrimental to the orderly control and operation” of the bar, the allegations said.In the appeal, a lawyer for the bar’s owner denies the allegations and said the staff “exercised due diligence in relation to permitting entry or serving alcohol” to customers.ABOUT THE AUTHORJosh Hoffman is a reporter for CBC Nova Scotia. Josh worked as a local radio reporter all over Canada before moving to Nova Scotia in 2018.
Proposed discipline for Halifax nightclub on hold as parent company faces bankruptcy
