Vaughan nightclub that saw plenty of good times, violence nearby, shuts

Luxy Nightclub owner Bart Kacki says the club was friendly, huge success and may open again elsewhere

Yorkregion.com
Oct. 26, 2022
Jeremy Grimaldi

A venue that has brought more than one million people together, but has also played a role in some of the violence that occurred in a nearby parking lot, has closed its doors.

Luxy Nightclub, located at Vaughan’s Interchange Way for 14 years, closed at the end of September after the lease at the location ran out.

The site will now be redeveloped by owners QuadReal.

Bart Kacki, the owner of Luxy, said the venue hosted huge names in the music industry, including Niki Minaj, Sean Paul and Bruno Mars, and was extremely safe inside the doors.

However, the site has come under fire in the past because of some of the violence that occurred outside its doors.

That includes a fatal shooting that occurred on its final weekend.

During that incident at the end of September, a man identified as Alphonso “MJ” Wright, 20, was fatally shot at 3:30 a.m.

In 2016, Gianluca Cellucci was fatally stabbed in the parking lot following a fight that began as he was leaving Luxy.

Luckily, an Uber driver was filming the melee, which caught Nick Bagerzadeh, who had also been at the club, entering the fight and stabbing Cellucci multiple times.

He was later sentenced to 10 years in prison.

In 2018, Andre Tully was supposed to attend a rap concert at Luxy. Police had been stationed at the venue, as the artist had been associated with recent shootings, according to court documents.

After police allegedly saw a gun in Tully’s car, he drove off, hitting one of the officers.

Kacki said the gun violence that surrounded the venue did play a role in him deciding to close the doors.

“I don’t have control over what happens outside,” he said. “Crimes happened; it made my decision easier. The truth is that my lease was ending anyways. Instead of going further, I decided to close.”

Kacki said his club was very safe at all times, something echoed by a number of partygoers on social media following an announcement on the club's closing.

He also noted that the club was rented out for free a number of times to community groups, charities and firefighters.

“There was never crimes in the venue,” he added.

He said he’s looking forward to starting a new Luxy venue and is considering one location inside York Region and another outside.

QuadReal said it would not be discussing the past incidents of violence on its property.

“We (will) not be discussing publicly our security practices although paramount is the security and safety of our tenants and residents and those who work for QuadReal,” wrote spokesperson Susan MacLaurin.

The site is now in the midst of redevelopment.

When asked if there will be late-night venues in the new development, MacLaurin said that question is “just a bit premature.”