The Revere License Commission held its regular monthly meeting last Wednesday,
November 19, in the City Council Chamber. On hand for the session were chair Robert Selevitch and members Daniel Occena and Liliana Monroy.
The first item on the agenda was a request from Mission Hill Donuts, LLC, d/b/a Dunkin’ 338 Squire Road, Mark Pesce, LLC Manager, for the transfer of a Common Victualler License from Lu-Jac Corp., with requested hours of Sunday–Saturday, 5 a.m.–9 p.m.
Nicole Sullivan, speaking on behalf of the applicant, explained that the request relates solely to a change in ownership and there will be no changes in the operation of the business. The commissioners had no questions and the application was approved.
The next item was an application from Triangle Pro, Inc., d/b/a Billy C, 441 Revere Street, Zhen Zhang, Manager, for a change of Manager from Jin Fang Wang.
A co-owner of the company appeared before the commission to present the request. There were no questions and the matter was approved unanimously.
The third item was a request by State Road Wine and Spirits, Inc., 116 State Road, Jewel Saeed, Manager, for a transfer of Stock and Change of Corporate Name from Beachmont Wine and Spirits. All operations will remain the same.
Attorney Elizabeth Pisano from Upton, Connell, and Devlin explained that there are two new investors in the business. She said there will be no change in operations, although there will be upgrades in the look of the premises and in the quality of the products.
The commissioners had no questions and approved the request.
The commission conducted two hearings. The first pertained to a continued hearing regarding Argueta & Piche Corp., d/b/a Carnaval Latino Restaurant, 7B Everett Street, Julia Duarte-Alarcon, Manager, regarding allegations of “violating closing procedures, overservice, and service past 2 a.m.” The matter had been continued from the commission’s August meeting.
The commissioners heard from representatives of the establishment, who said that a new security firm has been ensuring that patrons are leaving the premises before the closing. Police Lieut. Glenn Malley noted that there have been no new issues reported to the police.
“We’ve seen over the past 60-90 days that with the new security firm, they are on an upward trajectory and I trust we will not see them going forward,” said Occena. “I’m certainly in favor of allowing them to not have the police details and continue with that they’ve been doing.”
The commissioners voted unanimously to place the matter “on file.”
Next up was another continued heating from August concerning Lupita Revere, LLC, d/b/a Lupita Restaurant, 111 Shirley Avenue, Erasmo A. Guevara, Manager, into allegations of “disruptions of the public safety and order, service to intoxicated patrons, violation of license closing rules, violation of on-premises license law.”
Several residential neighbors of the establishment told the commissioners of the ongoing problems.
“I’m fighting for my house, for my peace, for my safety, for my sleep, and for my family,” said one resident, who has lived across the street for 13 years. “We have the same exact problems that we had in July of 2024 — loud music, drunk crowds, careless behavior in the street until three in the morning, and it is getting worse.
“This is a clear nightclub, not a restaurant, operating in the middle of a residential neighborhood, and the loud DJ shakes the neighborhood every night,” he continued. “They promised soundproofing and a double door, but nothing has changed. We cannot sleep until 2:30 or 3:00 every Friday and Saturday night. Even when the door is shut we hear the music and when someone opens the door, the sound blasts across the street like a live concert. People smoke weed in the streets and we can smell it.
“People leave the place and shout in the street for 45 minutes as they are waiting for Uber and we have to wait until 3:30 for them to go,” he continued. “There were eight police cars there last week because there were fights in the street.
“We are just asking for a basic quiet life, nothing more,” he added, noting that upstairs neighbors decided to leave because of the noise. “Lupita’s makes our lives a nightmare for my family and my 12 year-old daughter.”
Occena questioned whether the resident was able to distinguish between the patrons of Lupita’s and two nearby establishments, to which the resident responded that when Lupita’s hours had been rolled back to midnight, there were no problems, but as soon as the commissioners restored the late-night hours to a 2:00 a.m. closing, the problems resumed.
“I would agree that if they had applied for a nightclub license in that location, it would not have worked,” Selevitch added.
A former resident, who had lived there since 2007, but who said she was forced to move from her Shirley Ave. apartment to a quieter locale in Saugus because of her husband’s cancer treatment, also provided testimony about the loud noise generated by Lupita’s.
“You’ve heard what the neighbors have said and it isn’t anything we haven’t heard before,” said Selevitch, addressing Mr. Guevara. “What can we do to keep the noise down so that people can enjoy their homes?”
“I don’t want to see your business get hurt,” said Lieut. Malley, who then noted that most of the Revere P.D.’s police cars are there every weekend, that patrons are coming out drunk, and that one person was observed with a solo cup in their hands.
“The issue is in the street, not on the premises,” said Occena.
“I think the solution here is to roll back the hours to midnight,” said Selevitch. “I think we need to take into account the neighbors and the neighborhood and when we rolled it back last time, we alleviated the problem. I feel badly that this gentleman (the owner) will suffer, but by the same token, he had an opportunity to fix it in the past, but it hasn’t been fixed.”
However, Occena interjected and suggested that instead of rolling back the hours, there should be an increase in the police detail on the weekend nights.
When Monroy suggested rolling back the closing hours to 1:00 a.m., Selevitch queried about rolling back the entertainment license — specifically the DJ — to midnight.
Occena then made the unusual suggestion that the meeting go “off the record,” at which time the commissioners stepped from the City Council rostrum and went off-camera to discuss what Selevitch characterized as a “procedural question” after they had returned.
“There were procedural things we had to discuss as to what we can and can’t do,” said Selevitch when the commissioners returned, suggesting that what the members discussed off-the-record was not a violation of the Open Meeting Law.
Selevitch made a motion to roll back the hours to 1:00 a.m.,which Monroy seconded. Occena amended the motion to make the rollback effective for 30 days and to bring the other two establishments before the commission at that time.
“We all want to see a vibrant business on Shirley Ave., but we have to balance the business with the needs of the residents,” said Selevitch.
The commissioners then moved onto their next matter and voted unanimously to permit special hours for New Year’s Eve — as they have done in the past — to allow establishments to remain open until 3:00 a.m., though they may not serve liquor after the usual 1:30 a.m. All alcohol must be cleared by 2:00 a.m., all music must cease by 2:30 a.m, and patrons must be off the premises by 3:00 a.m.
The commission received one communication during the month, a notification from the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) of the approval of the transfer application of Rice Passions World Corp d/b/a Rice Passions.
The commissioners also issued the following licenses:
Malt/Wine Package Store:
A.L. Prime Energy Consultant, Inc., 655 Revere Beach Parkway
AMBE Corp. d/b/a Broadway Convenient Mart, 632 Broadway
Yaksh, Inc. d/b/a Beachway Beer & Wine, 40 Furlong Drive
All Alcohol Package Store:
Jia Liquors Corp. d/b/a BCM Liquors, 535 Broadway
Orange Grove Market, Inc., 158 Shirley Avenue
Pramukh Raj Gas Station, Inc. d/b/a Joe’s Market, 338 Squire Road
Premrang, Inc. d/b/a Gio’s Liquors, 765 Broadway
Shree Rang, Inc. d/b/a E-Z Liquors, 750 Washington Avenue
Shuban, Inc. d/b/a Parkway Convenience, 190A Revere Beach Parkway
All Alcohol Restaurant:
Lin & Ben, Inc. d/b/a Jade Asian Restaurant, 339 Squire Road, Unit 120
Entertainment:
A.L. Prime Energy Consultant, Inc., 655 Revere Beach Parkway
