Saugus rollback fever wanes, not cured

SAUGUS – The fervor surrounding the possible rollback of liquor license hours has dwindled with the closure of two of the town’s largest clubs but, for some, the point is not moot.There does not seem to be a clear date for when a hearing on the rollback will be re-opened, but Board of Selectmen Chairman Donald Wong said he believes it will be on Feb. 2. However, as an owner of Kowloon Restaurant on Route 1 north, Wong will be sitting opposite his elected colleagues during the hearing, not with them.The question of rolling back hours came to a head after a spate of violence last year at area nightclubs. Initially, board members rushed to hold a public hearing on the issue in late October after feeling pressure from Town Meeting members bent on seeing restaurants and club hours rolled back to 1 a.m. Halloween and a pending election put the brakes on that plan and it was decided it would be best to put it off until after the November election.On Dec. 17 board members yielded to a packed house that, while orderly, was outspoken on both sides of the issue. It was suggested, after nearly four hours of debate, that the selectmen not rush to a decision, especially since Selectman Michael Kelleher said he came away from the meeting with more questions than answers and the hearing was continued to an undetermined date.Since that meeting, Jin Restaurant and Tabu Ultra Lounge and Nightclub, the town’s top two troubled spots, are both out of business, which may have caused some of the steam to run out of the rush to roll back. Whether the rollback will happen remains to be seen – neither Selectman Michael Serino nor Police Chief Domenic DiMella support it – but as far as Town Meeting member Janet Leuci is concerned the point is far from moot.Jin might be closed, but the property owners will be before the board Tuesday requesting a beer and wine license under a new name.Leuci, a strong proponent for rolling back the hours said a new establishment at the Jin property is enough to push for an across the board rollback of hours affecting anyone who holds a liquor license.While the troubled clubs are currently out of business, Leuci said it isn’t likely they will stay that way and history is on her side. Tabu started life as Pazzaluna, then became the Brickhouse Nightclub then Tabu and each new name brought its own spate of trouble.Likewise Jin started out as Weylu’s, remained closed for several years until it reopened as East Manor, then the New East Manor and finally Jin. If the beer and wine license is approved Tuesday it will morph into Mambo.”They feel its a moot because Jin Asian has gone away but here they come again,” Leuci said. “We’ll see other places will reopen under other names.”Leuci said rolling back the hours would put an end to lawsuits and legal appeals that often follow punishments meted out to troubled clubs during show cause hearings. The move, she added, would also send a message that the town isn’t going to sit idle any longer.”Unless they deal with this across the board we will always be reactive and not proactive,” she said.