State: Pawtucket Bar Where Man Was Shot Can Reopen For Now

PAWTUCKET, RI — The Vibe Lounge & Hookah Bar has regained its liquor license for now — but the venue must hire police details and close at midnight, state regulators ruled on Wednesday.

But it's not the end of the story. The R.I. Department of Business Regulation plans to schedule another hearing where a decision by the City of Pawtucket to permanently revoke the bar's liquor license will be considered on its merits.

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On April 23, a man was shot outside the downtown venue, and police reported that they were met by a hostile crowd. Prior to the shooting, police responded to disturbances at the Vibe Lounge on April 5, 11, and 18. On May 11, city officials voted to revoke the bar's liquor license. The next day, a lawyer for the Vibe Lounge filed an appeal with the state, and also filed a motion for a stay of the local ruling pending a full hearing.

The Vibe Lounge, at 25 Broad St., has been closed since the night of the shooting.

In a ten-page ruling dated May 19, the Department of Business Regulation — the agency that enforces the state's liquor regulations — partially granted the motion filed by Atty. Peter Petrarca on behalf of bar owners Victor and Leslie Silva. The ruling means the bar can re-open under certain conditions pending a second hearing before the DBR.

"We are pleased by the ruling and look forward to proving that the shooting had nothing to do with the club," Petrarca told Patch.

The granting of a partial stay "maintains the status quo pending the full hearing," the DBR ruled. The ruling states that a hearing on the merits of the appeal will be held at a future date.

DBR hearing officer Catherine R. Warren said the stay will be conditioned on a midnight closing and a two-person police detail between approximately 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.

The investigation into the April 23 shooting, where a 32-year-old man was shot five times as he left the bar, remains under investigation, said Det. Sgt. Christopher Lefort of the Pawtucket Police Department.

DBR Order Re Vibe Lounge Pawtucket RI 05182021 by Mary Serreze on Scribd