Saugus denies Oasis license

SAUGUS – The Board of Selectmen declined to give the troubled Oasis Restaurant a new liquor license Tuesday, largely because the establishment no longer exists.Restaurant operator Sam Abdel-Hadi asked the board for a new license after the old license expired at the end of December. Abdel-Hadi was forced to close the Route 1 north business last August after fire tore through the roof causing significant damage.However, the property owners’ attorney Richard Magnan told the board Abdel-Hadi no longer has a lease on the building. While he resisted going into detail, Magnan said the lease agreement, for a number of reasons, had become null and void.Magnan also pointed to the application Abdel-Hadi filed for the liquor license and noted there was no location noted or lease agreement attached.”The ABCC (Alcohol Beverage Control Commission) would shoot this right back,” he said.Selectman Stephen Horlick pointed out that in order to obtain a liquor license the applicant must have a location.Abdel-Hadi initially told the board he was negotiating with the insurance company and the property owner over the damages and hoped to re-open in two months. He also told the board he would no longer be running a nightclub.”There will just be dinner,” he said. “No dancing, no music, no nightclub.He called the fact his license expired a miscommunication and lamented that it cost him $150,000 to acquire it from another holder. He did not, however, dispute Magnan’s claims.Abdel-Hadi was already under scrutiny from the board when the restaurant closed. Oasis had been called in for a show cause hearing due to a number of violent incidents that had taken place in the parking lot in 2008. The hearing had been continued when the fire closed the place.Selectman Michael Kelleher said he thought Abdel-Hadi should be aware that the Police Department recommended against issuing any new liquor license to the club due to the prior trouble. He also said, after having viewed the ruins of the establishment, he couldn’t imagine it would be re-opened within two months.”Quite frankly it looks horrible inside,” he said. “I think there’s still a hole in the roof.”Magnan said the owners have made no commitment, but given the age of the building, the extensive damage and subsequent vandalism, there has been discussion on tearing the restaurant down.The board voted 4-0 with chairman and liquor license holder Donald Wong abstaining to deny the license. Kelleher said the license was denied because the applicant had no location for the license and the Police Department recommended it be refused.Horlick said he based his judgment largely on the fact that given Abdel-Hadi’s previous alleged violations he didn’t feel comfortable granting him a second chance.