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Splash re-opened after temporary closing

Students gave mixed reviews about Splash Ultra Lounge & Burger Bar, which was shut down after an underage Boston University student’s high tab led officials to shut down the club on Saturday.

The Boston Fire Department District Four chief temporarily closed Splash Saturday night due to overcrowding, violation of fire codes and serving alcohol to minors, including the unnamed BU student, according to a police report.

Nicole Murati Ferrer, chairwoman of Boston’s Licensing Board, said the fire chief who shut the club down on Saturday has lifted the order so that they can be open for business.

“I can’t comment on whether there will be any action taken against Splash because we haven’t heard the evidence,” Ferrer said. “There will be a hearing on Oct. 23 at 10 a.m.”

Madisen Sanders, a College of General Studies sophomore, said she noticed overcrowding when she attended Splash this year.

“I particularly thought of it as a little shady,” she said. “I actually ended up leaving because it was overcrowded. There just wasn’t enough breathing area at all. It was very packed.”

Sanders said she noticed underage drinking when she attended Splash, but is still surprised by it.

“From my friends’ experiences, they’ve said they have no problems getting into clubs around Boston being underage, but I haven’t had that experience,” she said. “It made sense to me that when they were called in for the overcrowding issue, they were also investigating the other issue.”

Police reported to the club after a parent of an underage Boston University student reported that his daughter was charged $2,800 at a recent Saturday event during which the club served unlimited bottle service to underage BU students, the report stated.

Officers at the scene found the club to be in violation of codes regarding impeded egress and overcrowding and called for the fire chief to investigate.

“[The chief] responded, made interior observations of the excessive occupant load and ordered the premise evacuated for the safety of all patrons and employees and for failing to comply with the licensed capacity,” the report stated.

Officers also found the club to be serving alcohol to minors, according to the report.

“Detectives also observed alcoholic beverage bottle service to be offered throughout the club to the very young clientele,” the report stated.

Ferrer said it is the fire chief’s responsibility to shut down premises with violations.

“When they [police] see a public safety issue, the fire chief gets called in, which is what they did at that point,” she said.

“Investigation revealed that a promoter known as [omitted] has been involved in the ‘Saturday Afternoon Recess Party’ from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays at Splash,” the report stated.

After the police had arrived at the scene, they reportedly observed a number of young people under the age of 21 lining up for entry.

Police reported that another detective asked a different male patron for proof of age and the patron showed a fake Venezuelan driver license.

Later, the young man showed his true ID, which proved him to be underage.

The doorperson told detectives that there were 247 persons on the first floor of the building. The licensed capacity of the first floor on both the BFD Assembly Permit and the Inspectional Services Department Certificate is 210 persons, the report stated.

When entertainment is taking place, as it was on Saturday, the licensed floor capacity is 200 persons.

Splash was recently cited for overcrowding on Aug. 9, the report stated.

EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this aricle, published in the Oct. 4 print edition and online, quoted one BU student as saying there was a stage that people in Splash could reach. This was a misquote and is incorrect — there is no stage at Splash. The student’s college was also incorrectly attributed. Because of the misquote and to avoid further confusion, the student’s quotes were removed online.

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3 Comments

  1. It really should have been more clear that we’re not talking about Splash, the BU club-finding event.

  2. “police…reportedly observed a number of young people under the age of 21 lining up for entry”

    There are so many reasons why this isn’t illegal.

  3. I’ve been to splash on several occasions and have had amazing time! EVERY club in Boston serves under age! Splash isn’t the first. The girl who spent 2800 dollars should be charged for providing false identification! I’m pretty sure that is against the law! Her father clearly wants to blame everyone but his daughter.