SAUGUS — The Board of Selectmen is set to hear from Kowloon during an as-yet unscheduled show cause hearing, where officials from the restaurant will be asked to answer questions about a pre-Thanksgiving fight that led to four arrests.
The board voted unanimously to call the hearing after reviewing the police report for the incident, which was submitted to members by Saugus Police Chief Michael Ricciardelli in December. Selectmen did not comment specifically on the content of the report, which outlines the events of the Nov. 22 fight. The report confirms that the restaurant served alcohol to two underage customers, who provided fake identification to staff.
Selectmen Chair Debra Panetta said board members were still working to find a date when all five members could attend a hearing.
In the immediate aftermath of the fight, board members cautioned against a rush to judgment based on videos circulating on social media, saying they would wait for the report from the police department before taking any action. By setting a show cause hearing, selectmen signaled their intention to address the incident in some way. However, it is unclear if they will vote to suspend or even revoke the liquor license issued to Kowloon.
Prior to the hearing, Selectman Corinne Riley filed a disclosure with the town clerk’s office detailing her relationship with state Rep. Donald Wong, whose family owns and operates the Kowloon. Riley served as Wong’s campaign manager during his re-election campaign in 2016.
In the police report, Lt. Shawn Flynn, one of six officers working at the restaurant the night of the fight, said Bobby Wong, the restaurant’s owner, began forming a line outside at around 6 p.m. as demand grew for entry inside. Flynn said despite the line growing to over 200 people, he felt the restaurant was not close to reaching its 1,200-person capacity.
That night’s most crowded restaurant area was the Hong Kong Lounge, where the fight broke out.
Flynn said two alcohol violations occurred on the night of the fight when 19-year-olds Donovan Clark and Arnold Carey Marujo were served alcohol despite being underage. He also noted that restaurant staff were checking IDs that night and confiscated 13 fake IDs. Guests who “presented identification indicating they were 21 years of age or older” received wristbands allowing them to order alcohol.
Serving alcohol to underage patrons is likely a violation of Kowloon’s liquor license, though a copy of the town’s regulations for liquor licenses could not be immediately obtained Wednesday.
The town has not held a show cause hearing in quite some time.
A review of available meeting agendas for the Board of Selectmen and Item archives shows the board intended to hold a number of hearings in early 2021, though meeting minutes could not be found to confirm whether or not those hearings were ever held.
In what could be an important precedent, in 2015, after a series of show cause hearings, selectmen voted to impose three-day license suspensions for three restaurants found to have served alcohol to underage patrons. Both Panetta and Vice Chair Jeff Cicolini were on the board at that time.
