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The state dealt another blow to Ushuaia and its owner Alex Gray.
The State Liquor Licensing Commission upheld the Orono Town Council’s denial of the establishment’s liquor license.
Gray had appealed the council’s denial to the commission.
“The department finds by clear and convincing evidence that the decision of the town of Orono to deny Ushuaia’s application for renewal of a Class XI restaurant-lounge liquor license is justified,” said Lt. Patrick Flemming of the Maine Department of Public Safety in the commission’s decision.
Gray said he was taking the denial in stride.
“It’s business as usual,” he said, adding that he has yet to decide whether he will appeal the rejection to the Maine Superior Court.
If the final appeals are denied, Gray will have to wait until January 2007 to reapply for the liquor license.
Gray declined further comment, and his attorney, Glen Porter, was out of town and unavailable for an interview.
The Orono Town Council rejected Gray’s application for a liquor license renewal in January because of concerns of an increasing number incidents at the nightclub.
At the appeal hearing on Feb. 17, Orono Town Attorney Tom Russell presented a report compiled by Deputy Police Chief Gary Duquette showing 46 incidents that occurred at the establishment in 2005, and 43 in 2004, compared with 23 in 2003 and 20 in 2002.
Duquette outlined 15 incidents that occurred in the previous year that he considered serious. They included disorderly conduct, assault, motor vehicle theft, operating under the influence and two stabbings.
Orono Town Manager Catherine Conlow said the town has been working with Gray.
The town granted the establishment a forbearance and non-enforcement agreement on the club’s special amusement license, which was also denied in January by the Town Council.
Conlow said the agreement allows Gray to offer special amusements, such as dancing and live entertainment, until the appeals are heard.
Two conditions of the agreement are that Gray “constantly operates” with a valid liquor license, and that there are not any additional breaches of the peace.
Gray has already reapplied for his special amusement license, and the matter will be heard by the Town Council on May 8.
The town manager said that while Gray has been working with the town, there are still some things he needs to do.
She said he has submitted a first draft of a management plan, but it contained little about the procedures that occur when there are acts of violence, an integral component the town is seeking.
“We haven’t seen as much about that as it is about what it takes to run a nightclub.”
