SAUGUS — The Board of Selectmen chose not to suspend Kowloon Restaurant’s liquor license at a show-cause hearing that was held in response to a brawl at the restaurant the night before Thanksgiving last year.
During the hearing, town officials suggested ideas that could prevent incidents like the brawl from happening again.
“I think there’s a few changes that I think would improve things up there, especially on a night like that,” Police Chief Michael Ricciardelli said.
Confirming a report prepared by Lt. Shawn Flynn from the night of the incident, Ricciardelli said he believes that 13 fake IDs were confiscated that night.
Ira Zaleznik, the town’s special counsel, asked Ricciardelli why the Police Department is not interested in prosecuting people with fake IDs. Ricciardelli clarified that the department handles those incidents on a case-by-case basis after examining whether the individual accepts responsibility and is remorseful.
“(After confiscation), they’ve lost that means to procure alcohol, and also, it’s probably the end of the night for them. In a lot of cases, the night’s over,” Ricciardelli said. “In most cases, for us to go forward with something like that, there’s usually a plus factor, some type of disturbance to go along with it.”
Ricciardelli said that the quality of the newer fake IDs, which are often ordered from China for hundreds of dollars, is very high, and he said it can be difficult to distinguish them from real IDs.
When asked about measures that Kowloon could take to ensure that people who are younger than 21 cannot be served alcohol, Ricciardelli said that there are ID scanners available, which scan the barcodes on IDs to verify their legitimacy.
“I don’t think (the ID scanners) are foolproof, but it’s a pretty good indicator,” Ricciardelli said.
Ricciardelli said he believes the total amount of criminal incidents at Kowloon is “probably on the low side” for an establishment of its size and patronage.
After the brawl, Ricciardelli was tasked with looking back at the incidents reported at Kowloon. He said that he was only able to find two other incidents at the restaurant during the night before Thanksgiving over the past 10 years, both of which occurred in the parking lot.
Board of Selectmen Vice Chair Jeff Cicolini said that he has heard from friends who are in the bar business that the newest, high-quality fake IDs can pass the scanners undetected.
Still, Selectman Michael Serino said that having an ID scanner would be beneficial in the future.
“They might not catch all of them, but I think it’ll catch maybe some of them, maybe 50%,” Serino said.
Cicolini said it could be helpful for the Police Department to work with the Wong family, which owns Kowloon, to determine how many officers should be posted to details at the restaurant.
Board of Selectmen Chair Debra Panetta said that although Flynn’s report suggested Kowloon was not above its capacity limit that night, video footage indicated that the bar area was overcrowded. She suggested that an occupancy limit should be established for the bar area and that someone should keep count of how many people are there.
Serino also suggested that a detail from the Fire Department could be assigned to the restaurant.
“I think the Fire Department has the power to either shut the place down or say no more people in the establishment. And in your report, it did say that Officer Flynn spoke to (owner) Bobby Wong about trying to keep the front entrance and hallway clear, and flowing some of the people upstairs. So, I think maybe having two fire detail people that night might be helpful also,” he said.
Cicolini said he did not support any type of suspension for the restaurant’s liquor license. He added that Wong family has acknowledged the brawl since “day one.”
“I don’t think they violated any of the laws, especially given the fact that, knowing the underaged persons were involved, and knowing their family situations with older brothers… I definitely think we work with the PD and the Wong family, have them go forward with purchasing one of the scanners, have them meet with the PD on the number of details that would be appropriate for next time around,” Ciciloni said.
Selectman Anthony Cogliano agreed that the restaurant’s liquor license should not be suspended, and said he has faith in its ownership to implement any changes requested by the board.
“If we ask Bobby Wong to add details or add fire details or buy a scanner, he’s gonna do it,” Cogliano said.
Zaleznik asked Wong if 13 fake ID confiscations is unusually high for a single night.
Wong said that number was “higher than usual,” adding that Kowloon usually only confiscates one or two fake IDs each month.
He added that there is an incentive for wait staff to confiscate fake IDs, as there is a policy in place through which staff and bartenders receive $50 per fake ID confiscated.
Cicolini said that he has “all the confidence in the world” that the Wong family will do “everything in (their) power to try and make sure that this doesn’t happen in the future.”
Wong said that he would be more than happy to implement any recommendations from the board.
Cicolini put forward a motion that Kowloon shall work with the Police and Fire departments to determine the appropriate number of details from both departments in the future, and purchase an ID scanner to use going forward. The motion passed unanimously. With regard to capacity limits in rooms throughout the restaurant, Cicolini said that Kowloon should work with the Inspectional Services and Fire departments to determine the limits on a room-by-room basis.
