The City’s Licensing Commission met on Tuesday, April 16, at City Hall to review the licenses of four local dining and nightlife establishments.
On the agenda were La Finca Restaurant at 37 Norwood St., Everett Bar & Grill at 206 Ferry St., Winners Sports Bar & Grill at 361 Ferry St. and Karma Lounge Boston at 355 Ferry St.
The businesses appearing before the Commission on the April 16 had been summoned for a variety of violations.
•The owners of La Finca Restaurant heard from the Commission that a woman had been charged with operating under the influence when, on March 18, she left La Finca heavily intoxicated and got into a car accident. The owners received a verbal warning about the dangers of overserving and will also receive a written warning.
•The owners of Everett Bar & Grill (Divas Lounge) appeared to answer to an allegation of serving alcohol to minors. In the early hours of Monday, April 8, police arrested a man for sexual assault who claimed he had been drinking at Divas, despite being underage. The owners received a written warning and said that they were stepping up both their security and their surveillance in order to be sure that all patrons who say they were in the bar were actually there, and to ensure that all patrons are being properly carded by waitstaff.
•Winners Sports Bar & Grill and Karma Lounge Boston, which occupy two floors of the same building, were summoned to answer to a trash complaint filed by the Everett Fire Department. According to the Fire Department, the establishments had allowed waste to pile up outside of their location in such a way as to block egresses, creating a fire hazard. The Department also alleged that the businesses didn’t have efficient grease disposal and that greased walkways could result in injuries. The Commission told the businesses that their hours would be rolled back to 10 p.m. effective immediately until it could be established that they have entered into a daily trash pickup contract.
Chairman Phil Antonelli said he wanted to see better behavior on the part of the businesses present, mentioning that police resources were already spread thin with the activity associated with the imminent casino opening.
“The summer’s coming. We don’t need any type of problems,” he said. “We can’t be utilizing [police] resources running to these bars. We don’t need anyone getting hurt or getting in accidents.”
In addition to the above appearances, the Texas Roadhouse at 31 Mystic View Rd. appeared to apply for a change of beneficial interest. The change affects the corporate offices only and doesn’t impact operations locally or in the state. It was approved by the ABCC and was unanimously approved by the Licensing Commission.
According to its website, the License Commission is “charged with the responsibility of issuing licenses and enforcing rules, regulations, local ordinances, and state laws pertaining to the sale of alcoholic beverages; the Licensing Commission shall promulgate all regulations necessary for the application local ordinance and state law.”
Chair Antonelli said that businesses can be called for license review if a complaint is submitted by a community member or by law enforcement. Business owners then have to appear before the commission at their regular monthly meeting to defend their license.
If a business is found to be in violation of their license, there is an established protocol of steps that are taken. First is a verbal warning, followed by a written warning. The third violation results in a license being suspended for a certain period of time and, finally, a business can have its licensed fully revoked.