Patrons of popular Boston nightlife venues, including Hennessy’s and Felt, accused employees of the venues of assault and battery at a Boston Licensing Board meeting yesterday.
West Street Grille, Hennessy’s of Boston and Felt faced charges for alleged assault and battery violations by employees.
According to police, a West Street Grille patron claimed that on Oct. 29 he had an altercation with bartender Sean Glennon after which he was hit on the head with a bottle. The patron, who left the bar in an ambulance, said he did not see who threw it.
Glennon said the patron’s behavior was aggressive and asked him to calm down when he saw another customer throw the bottle.
“I saw him wind up and throw it,” Glennon said. “He threw it and ran.”
West Street Grille was also charged with failing to alert police after the assault. Restaurant owner Robert Burke admitted that he did not know who placed the call to an ambulance.
An employee of Hennessy’s was also accused of assaulting a customer on Dec. 23, as the patron said an employee at the door allegedly tripped him after he was asked to leave the bar, said Detective James Moy.
Hennessy’s defense lawyer denied that anyone touched the patron.
According to Massachusetts law, venues are prohibited from serving alcohol or hosting events with an open bar unless the bar is funded by a private party which also provides the alcohol.
These parties typically include a guest list, said Licensing Board Commissioner Joseph Mulligan.
Avalon, Axis, The Park Plaza, Stadium Sports Bar and Sorriso allegedly violated these open bar laws.
General Manager of Avalon and Axis Ray Montgomery said he did not realize he was breaking any laws when he hosted an open bar in a private section of the club on Dec. 29.
“It was just a thank you to our best customers,” Montgomery said.
Like Montgomery, Sorriso owner Ian Just said he believed he was on legal ground when he threw an open bar event on Jan. 5 because he hired an event-coordinating company to run the private event. But Pokaski said Just potentially violated the law because he funded it.
“To tell you the truth it’s a gray area,” Chairman of the Board Daniel Pokaski said.
“It comes down to what’s a private party and what’s not a private party.”
Pokaski added that even with a guest list, it can be hard to keep the two separate.
The Board also discussed alleged violation by Gigi’s Liquors in Dorchester, after a man was caught outside the store with an open container of champagne, said Lt. Detective Valimore Williams.
According to state law, it is illegal to have an open container of alcohol in the street.
Williams said that he saw a man outside Gigi’s drinking champagne from a tiny plastic cup during a champagne tasting on Dec. 22.
But the liquor store’s defense lawyer said the man was actually drinking champagne out of a small taster cup and the man slipped outside unnoticed by Gigi employees, yet Pokaski said that even when dealing with the smallest quantities of alcohol, the rules remain the same.
“You have to make sure no one leaves the premise,” Pokaski said.
Owners of ODB Liquors in Hyde Park also faced an alleged violation for selling alcohol to a minor.
According to police, on August 6, a 17-year-old boy bought alcohol from the store using a fake identification card. The boy allegedly told the officer he had traveled from West Roxbury to ODB Liquors where he knew he could use the ID.
Chairman Pokaski said the forged ID was not even of a government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license, and therefore should not have been accepted as identification.
ODB Liquors’ defense attorney said ODB Liquors had had a clean record for two and a half years and that the woman working the counter that night claimed to not recognize the ID at all when police showed it to her.
Each of the violations heard today will be discussed by the Licensing Board and voted on Thursday. After the hearing, Mulligan said most of these cases will likely receive minor penalties.
