WORCESTER—Public safety officials asked city License Commissioners to dole out a harsh punishment after they found overcrowding at Whiskey on Water during an inspection on Sept. 21.
The incident is the latest in a series of concerning violations, police and fire officials said at the commission’s meeting Thursday morning.
Worcester Police Sgt. Thomas Needham of the Alcohol Enforcement Unit recounted what happened when investigators visited the bar that night, telling commissioners that a count of patrons on the second floor topped out at 180—60 more than allowed.
The total capacity for the bar is 240 with 120 people allowed on the first and second floors, he explained, noting that bar manager Benjamin Dacey was at the door with a count of 186 people on his handheld counting device.
Firefighters have visited the bar 13 times and found it over capacity on nine occasions, Lt. Kevin Vescera of the Worcester Fire Department said.
“We have also responded to a complaint from a patron’s parent saying their daughter had trouble getting out of the second floor due to overcrowding,” Vascera said, adding that there have been 11 violations issued to Whiskey on Water by his department.
Vascera suggested commissioners ask the business to find a new manager, suspend the bar’s liquor license for 30 days or revoke the license altogether. He said the rules regarding overcrowding stem from the fire that killed 100 people at the Station Nightclub in Rhode Island 2 decades ago.
Needham said commissioners need to send a”loud and clear” message as a result of the violations.
While Sean Murray, the attorney representing bar manager Benjamin Dacey, agreed that the second floor of the bar was overcrowded, he said there were extenuating circumstances that night.
The bar was short-staffed because employees had called out to attend a memorial for a former employee who’d died unexpectedly. Because of that, Dacey was working the front door and not moving around the facility as he typically would.
He said Dacey, 23, is not only dealing with the matter before the License Commission but has also been criminally charged by the city and “will spend the next year in the district court trying to deal with this matter.
“Bringing a case to the criminal level, I would suggest, really sends a chilling effect to the business owners, managers and other businesses looking to do business in the city,” Murray said.
Murray asked commissioners to consider the difficult climate bars and restaurants are experiencing.
He said the bar has made changes since Sept. 21. The morning after the incident, Dacey fired the entire staff and hired an outside company to provide security which costs $2,500 a week. He said that he understood there would be a penalty handed to the bar and asked that any suspension be served in January.
Dacey said, after Commissioner Charran Fisher told him she was sympathetic of his age, that he works 3 jobs and has a tough home life. He said when he took over at Whiskey on Water the bar was nearing a decision to close and in a short amount of time he was able to revitalize it.
He said the night wasn’t typical and normally he walks around and keeps an eye on everything.
“It’s not easy,” he said, adding that the new security system has addressed the concerns.
The bar already had 4 days remaining from an earlier suspension and commissioners voted to close the bar Nov. 22, 23, 29 and 30. They also imposed a 21-day suspension and ordered the bar close for 10 days beginning Jan. 4. The remainder of the suspension is held in abeyance pending any further violations.
Whiskey on Water this past May was given a suspension of three days that was served in July for serving alcohol to a minor.
Another city official said the Building Department and Building Commissioner are actively seeking revocation of the occupancy permit for 97 Water Street where the bar is located.
If that is approved, the building would have no legal occupancy permits.
Kim Ring fell into journalism in the 1980s as a correspondent at the Telegram & Gazette and eventually left her initial career to pursue reporting full time. In her years of writing she has penned articles for several Massachusetts-based publications, taking a brief hiatus to work as chief of staff for a state representative. She can be reached at Kimringwrites@gmail.com
