EAST PROVIDENCE — For the second time in the last two years, a vote of the East Providence City Council has revoked the beverage license of the East Bay Tavern. And for the second time in that span, the embattled establishment will likely take its case to the state.
At a special show cause hearing Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 11, the Council voted unanimously to strip the embattled bar located on Lyon Avenue of its liquor license. The Council, sitting as the city’s licensing board, voted 4-0 to end the Tavern’s ability to sell alcohol. Councilors Tommy Rose, Helder Cunha, Bobby Britto and Tracy Capobianco made the vote. Ward 4 representative Tim Conley was absent from the proceedings.
(Updated, Aug. 12, 10 a.m.) The show cause hearing was the result of two recent incidents at the bar, one where a number of patrons were injured and two assailants face multiple felony assault charges on July 12 and another when another patron was charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct on July 19.
Photo by Richard W. Dionne Jr. — Attorneys Lauren Vandervelde and William Maaia along with East Bay Tavern manager Stephen Tague listen as the Council votes to revoke the bar’s license during a show cause hearing August 11.
Assistant Solictor Bob Craven, East Providence Police Chief Chris Parella and Detective Corporal Mike Spremulli detailed the city’s case against East Bay Tavern, its owner DL Enterprises (Denise Laidlaw) and manager Stephen Tague. Chief Parella presented a prepared report on the situation, a compilation of past transgressions at the location, while Det. Spremulli led the assembled through the events of July 12.
Two men, Cheikh Thaim, 26, of Central Falls, and Amorino Amaral, 24, of Pawtucket, were arrested on multiple felony counts stemming from an altercation at the Tavern on July 12. Mr. Thaim is being charged with assault with intent to commit specified felonies (murder); two counts of assault with a deadly weapon; leaving the scene of an accident; and operation of a motor vehicle recklessly Mr. Amaral is being charged with two counts of felony assault. Det. Spremulli said injuries suffered by the victims ranged from cuts and bruises to road rash from being struck by a vehicle to a broken leg.
A week later, on July 19, Chief Parella noted a patron resisted arrest when awakened by an EPPD officer after he had fallen asleep in a parked vehicle outside of the establishment.
City-based attorneys William Maaia and Lauren Vanderveld offered the rebuttal on behalf of DL Enterprises and Mr. Tague, who was seated in the audience.
Mr. Maaia voiced an objection to the inclusion of Chief Parella’s report about incidents during the period of 2010-2013.
Ms. Vandervelde delivered most of the defense, arguing several court precedents did not allow for “revocation” of the Tavern’s license, a result she deemed would be the “death penalty” for the business. She said the transgressions “did not rise to that level of egregiousness.”
Ms. Vandervelde continued, saying of the 36 incidents reported to have taken place at the Tavern in recent years, 24 occurred outside of the premises and away from management oversight. She noted there were no deaths, no illicit drug use, no weapons found and no injured police officers associated with the incidents.
Solicitor Craven, likewise, cited numerous court precedents in arguing the Council was well within its purview to revoke the Tavern’s license. He said “prior bad acts” show a “predisposition for this behavior” and it is “not a defense that the licensee was not aware of the transgressions” as Ms. Vandervelde claimed in her remarks.
In voicing his support for revocation, Mr. Cunha, in whose district (Ward 2) East Bay Tavern is situated, said “It’s pretty evident the track record speaks for itself…Management is lacking.”
As happened in early 2014 when the Council, likewise, attempted to revoke the Tavern’s license, the establishment is expected to appeal the decision to the State Department of Business Regulation.