22 Feb 26th-March 4th, 2026 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Closing Time Two downtown Phoenix nightclubs shut their doors. BY BENJAMIN LEATHERMAN B ar Smith and Monarch Theatre, two longtime downtown Phoenix night- clubs, have closed. Owner Sean Badger, who performs as DJ Senbad, says the neigh- boring Washington Street venues were locked out Tuesday by the property owners. Their final night of operation was Feb. 15. Badger says the shutdown stems from a nearly two-year dispute with Liebhaber Family Partnership, which owns the buildings housing both clubs, over efforts to secure a new long-term lease. “It’s all very convoluted and a lot of weird shit has gone on,” Badger says. “But in the end, both the clubs are closed.” Since 2024, Bar Smith and Monarch Theatre had operated under a month-to- month agreement. Badger says he was trying to secure a longer agreement. Two weeks ago, Badger says the club’s landlords sent a demand letter seeking what he describes as “an outlandish amount of money” for unpaid rent and property taxes allegedly dating back to 2005. The claim, Badger says, makes no sense. Bar Smith didn’t open until 2007. Badger and his former business partners Pete Salaz and Edson Madrigal didn’t sign his first lease for the property until 2010. And they launched Monarch Theatre in 2012. “So their allegations that I’ve been behind on property taxes and rents since 2005 is so outlandish and ridiculous,” he says. “There’s just no part of me that ever had met or even know who they were in 2005.” Badger hired an attorney to negotiate a resolution. Talks collapsed on Feb. 17. Hours later, Badger says, the locks were changed. A real estate listing for both Washington Street properties posted online the same day with a $3.3 million asking price. “They used a bunch of erroneous infor- mation to lock us out of the building,” Badger says. “The short answer is that we’ve been in a landlord dispute basically for almost two years and we finally came to a place where we were forced to leave.” Phoenix New Times reached out to Laura Liebhaber, a partner in the Liebhaber Family Partnership with her brothers Myron and Richard, according to Maricopa County Records. She declined to comment on the closing of the clubs. With Bar Smith and Monarch Theatre gone, downtown Phoenix loses two of its biggest nightlife anchors. The closures leave a void for clubgoers who filled the venues for weekly DJ nights and late-night dance parties. For years, the neighboring multi-story clubs functioned as epicenters of Washington Street nightlife. Bar Smith’s rooftop hosted open-air DJ sessions, while Monarch Theatre drew touring acts, hip-hop fans and Latin dance crowds into its cavernous rooms. On any given weekend, the block pulsed with beats and bass until last call, a regular stop for the party crowd. The venues faced numerous challenges in recent years: a 2020 break-in, rising costs and the post-pandemic nightlife slowdown. Badger also battled the city of Phoenix over zoning and use permits. The matter wound up in Maricopa County Superior Court, where it was dismissed last year in favor of Badger and the property owners, who were co-plaintiffs in the case. Over the last year, he says, Bar Smith and Monarch both had newfound momentum. “We have managed to stick it out and things were actually really taking a turn for the better,” Badger says. “I finally had put in place a management team, a staff and a vision for the future that was working.” Badger, who still owns the liquor license for Bar Smith and Monarch, isn’t certain what he’ll do next. “I’ve got to figure out how to make money again. Do I search out DJ gigs? Do I try promoting again?” Badger says. “I’m definitely going to take my liquor license and move it somewhere else, but that’s going to take time to find the right location because this was truthfully unexpected.” For now, he’s trying to look ahead. “I’m really hurt by the whole situation, but at the same time, I’m really optimistic because it’s a chance to do something new,” Badger says. “I’m excited to keep going, so I’m not bugging.” Read the full story on phoenixnewtimes.com. J Gary B drops beats at Bar Smith. (Benjamin Leatherman) ▼ Music
