LYNN — The owner of the Four Winds Pub & Grill on Sluice Pond said he was just kidding when he put a controversial message on the diners’ tab.
At the bottom of the check, under the 6.25 percent meals tax, is the recently enacted local option tax of 0.75 percent, or 75 cents on a $100 bill, which is labeled: Lynn fiscal irresponsibility tariff.
“It’s just me poking fun at the new tax and nothing more than that,” said Patrick DeBoever. “It’s an extra layer of bureaucracy for me. But if anyone knew me, it’s just my humor.”
Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, who opposed the measure only to see her veto overridden by the City Council, smiled when told of the message.
“It’s funny,” she said. “He has every right to print it, but I don’t believe the city has been fiscally irresponsible. I’d like for him to come down and talk to me about the budget and tell us where the fat is.”
But not everyone is laughing.
City Councilor-at-Large Brian LaPierre said the political statement is outrageous and irresponsible.
“The City Council acted prudently and responsibly based on the mayor’s budget deficit,” he said. “Snarky remarks like that won’t get him anywhere.”
City Council President Darren Cyr, who describes himself as Four Winds patron and the owner’s friend, said he wished DeBoever had called him before he put the statement on the tabs.
“Is he aware that in Swampscott, the town he lives in, has the same tax?” he said. “Maybe he doesn’t understand that most communities are imposing the modest tax that helps everyone. It has nothing to do with being fiscally irresponsible.”
The line won’t stay on checks for long, according to DeBoever.
“It seems like the path of least resistance was to raise taxes rather than trimming the fat at City Hall,” he said. “But it’s just my way of poking fun at it. I’m not a Lynn voter and the tax doesn’t necessarily affect my business. To be honest, I actually haven’t removed the message from the check, but it’s on my list of things to do.”
He acknowledged that several city councilors, who he declined to name, complained.
“They told me my message have blown up their phones,” he said. “But it’s all good clean fun and it wasn’t my intent to offend anyone.”
Peter Caron, the city’s chief financial officer, said he’s not amused.
“I don’t really care,” he said. “Either he either pays it or goes to jail for not paying it.”
This is not the first time DeBoever has angered City Hall, according to Clint Muche, deputy building commissioner.
Since he purchased the building on Broadway in 2011 for $240,000, the restaurateur has been cited by the Inspectional Services Department for doing construction work without a permit; for building a patio that failed to meet city codes; installing bathrooms that were not handicapped accessible; and police reported the eatery’s occupancy was exceeded one night last summer.
In response, DeBoever said “Anything that has come up in my six years of operation has all been taken care of through all the lawful channels.”
Still, his comments have not been limited to politics. The menu has a warning message about keeping the noise down: “Please help us to be good neighbors by limiting the salty lingo, howls, whoops and f-bombs commonly associated with Lynn nightlife.”
In the “You know you’re from Lynn if…” Facebook group, Laura Watson Durant wrote she found the warning insulting.
“The out of town owner makes the majority of his money off the citizens of Lynn. I’m thinking he could have ended it at F-bombs.”
DeBoever said the restaurant has an outdoor space and he’s simply asking diners to keep the noise down in consideration of our neighbors.
“It’s not directed at … no good can come from this,” he said. “I don’t understand why I am under attack.”
