PAWTUCKET -- The alcohol license of a downtown club and restaurant has been suspended while the owners try to work out several problems that could lead to restoration of the license.
One problem that majority owner Marcus Smith said he would correct immediately is a lapse in the annual corporate filing required for the business, Tropical Vibes Corp.
Smith bought the former Mindelo restaurant at 17 Exchange St. and revamped it as Tropical Vibe. Earlier this year he apparently looked to lease it out to another operator, who repainted the building and renamed the club Tabu.
Tropical Vibe had run into problems with the city for lack of a kitchen, required for its BV license, That had to be rectified before it could reopen as Tabu, requiring thousands of dollars in renovations as well as an updated fire alarm system mandated by the city.
That process saw its BV alcohol license briefly suspended starting May 28. In September, the City Council, sitting as the Liquor Board, asked Ronald Travers, city Code and Zoning Enforcement director, to inspect the club’s premises for compliance -- and determine who was operating it.
But the lease, never completely filled out, only raised more questions, prompting a legal review by Assistant Solicitor Frank Milos.
Milos told a Liquor Board hearing last Wednesday the document showed Marcus Smith had sublet the premises to someone else, including allowing the use of the liquor license "for the primary benefit of the lessee."
Such a provision, Milos said, violated the terms of the alcohol license granted by the city and applicable state law requiring the premises remain under the license holder’s control.
While managerial agreements are allowed, Milos said, "this goes way beyond."
Questioning of Smith and Ameth Alzate (nephew of Louis Alzate), who said his mother works in the kitchen and is buying a minority share of the business, brought out that the corporate name was never changed to Tabu and the lapse in corporate good standing was an oversight that would be quickly addressed.
Alzate also said "tons of money" had been invested to improve the business.
City Councilor David Clemente, who represents the area, tried to work out a compromise that would allow the establishment to continue operating as a restaurant while the alcohol license issues were resolved.
But he said the lack of corporate good standing with the Secretary of State’s office prevented that option.
The board voted unanimously to suspend the club and restaurant’s operation, pending the owners’ return before the board to seek reinstatement.
Alzate said when the place reopens, it will have a different orientation and be run differently.
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