The Revere License Commission held several hearings on Thursday and resolved a number of notable incidents that transpired this past fall.
Commissioner Linda Guinasso was absent due to family obligations.
First up was Wonderland Entertainment (Club Lido) who had a major crowding situation on Thanksgiving that required a large police response and an arrest in a violent stabbing incident.
Owner Charles Delpidio said the situation arose when the usual ticketing system went awry due to inaction of the promoter. Delpidio told the Commission that there was plenty of room in the facility – as there were some 605 people inside and capacity is 1,550. However, the usual ticketing system went sour when the promoter didn’t return tickets that weren’t purchased. Delpidio said he had no idea how many tickets were sold, and didn’t want to have an overcrowding situation, so he closed the door – causing unrest in the large crowd outside.
“Without having the tickets back, I had no idea how many people were coming,†said Delpidio. “In hindsight I had to make that decision and my decision was to be safe, close the doors and not have an overcrowding situation…I should maybe have made more tickets and allowed the people to come in. I was worried…We feel bad this happened and the last thing we want is something like this to happen.â€
Delpidio said he has changed some ticketing procedures, including not allowing promoters to go forward with an event without first returning the unsold tickets. He also said there would be no more will call ticketing.
Police said the problem was unrest outside and in the Wonderland Garage due to people who weren’t let in the club. Two men were arrested after someone drew a knife and threatened to stab another person.
Commissioners agreed to table the matter and take no action, but to revisit it if further problems arise.
Second, the Squire Lounge was called up for three violent incidents in the club and out in the parking lot this fall. The discussion was a continuation of a discussion from an earlier meeting.
Manager Peter DiPesa said they had changed several security procedures since the incidents and have had no incidents since then. Among the changes are separating the parking lot from the Hess gas station, added $20,000 in security cameras, and have added more wait staff and door workers. They’ve also added more police details.
“I believe the details will help a lot,†said Commissioner Joe Quarantello. “I want to help businesses grow in the city, but I also don’t want to have establishments be out of control and creating bad situations for residents.â€
Then, Woody’s Liquors came before the Commission for repeatedly violating a stipulation about keeping his pizza and liquor businesses separate via closing a door. John Wood of Woody’s said the door has been a major issue and he want to get permission to change the stipulation.
“I was the first to be approved for a situation like this, but since then there are a lot of other businesses who have come along since then that don’t have the same requirements that I do,†Wood said.
He cited Joe’s Market on Squire Road and the Dairy Mart on Squire Road – who both have liquor stores mixed in with food operations.
He said keeping the door closed really hurts his business, and he kept it open so he would be called to the Commission.
“I did it to get to this point,†he said. “I want to be here today. That’s what I was trying to do. I wanted to see what I could do to get that door open and revise the situation.â€
Said Quarantello, “Why didn’t you just send a letter?â€
“I came to City Hall and I tried to find out what to do to make the change, but no one could point me in the right direction,†he said.
The Commission pointed out that Wood has prior incidents with selling to minors. They agreed to table the matter for 30 days and let Guinasso weigh in on it.
Figaro at 425 Boulevard was approved for a new beer and wine license at its sandwich shop, under management of Giovanni Martone. The hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and there are five tables.
“The food is great there and the people are great,†said Quarantello. “I don’t anticipate any issues with this establishment if they would serve beer and wine.â€
Cafeteria Las Delicias Colombianas at 86 Shirley Ave. was approved to operate its restaurant and bar for a closing of 2 a.m. It was previously at 1 a.m. Commissioners indicated that there have never been any problems at the establishment, and Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky wrote a letter of support.
However, Commissioners did limit the DJ music to a closing of 1 a.m.
Volare Restaurant on Broadway under the management of Cecilia Maya was approved for a cappella singers. Maya said the restaurant would not be bringing in any instrumental music into the restaurant.
Finally, the Sons of Revere at 8 Revere St. was approved for an extension of hours from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. Manager David Lightbody said the move was to accommodate the holidays and he had no plans to change his clientele at all. He was approved unanimously.