WORCESTER—You may have noticed some area bars in Worcester are no longer having entertainment such as karaoke, live music, and deejays. Complaints from nightclub owners and musicians are all abuzz on social media.
On Oct. 19, the White Eagle in the city’s Canal District shared a post on Facebook indicating that the capacity at its downstairs bar was going to be limited to 62 people until a sprinkler system is installed at the venue.
The popular bar had already been told in August 2022 by the Worcester Fire Department that it could no longer have a deejay or live entertainment downstairs unless it installed a sprinkler system, according to Bar Manager Julie Sargentelli. Then, a month ago, she said fire officials came back and said they would have to limit capacity because it still didn’t have a sprinkler system.
It’s been a struggle for the White Eagle to find a company that is willing to take on the endeavor of installing sprinklers in a historic building, according to Sargentelli.
On Oct. 24, Steel & Wire posted on its Instagram page that it could no longer have live music or karaoke without a sprinkler system, either.
“This was tough to hear, and a change from previous years/businesses in this spot, but as we know- change is constant,” Owners Frank and Mara Inangelo wrote in the post.
When asked if there had been any recent changes to state law that prompted fire officials to shut down entertainment at the locations, city spokesperson Tom Matthews said there had not been any recent changes and that the related building code has not changed since 2004.
The inspectors are enforcing a Massachusetts state building code that requires any establishment with an occupancy permit of 50 or more acting as a nightclub to have a fire sprinkler system. Matthews said the majority of existing businesses have had a number of years to come into compliance.
The law defines a nightclub as an establishment featuring at least two of the following: low lighting levels, music generating above-normal sound levels, nighttime operating hours, tables and seating that create ill-defined aisles, a specific area designated for dancing, or service facilities for beverages with limited.
“When fire and code officials inspect these establishments the owners/responsible party are made aware of the requirements,” Matthews wrote in an email. “Operators have been known to state they do not intend to act as a nightclub and seek an occupancy permit as a restaurant or bar, which does not carry the same code requirements as a nightclub, but over time begin to operate as a nightclub.”
When asked why the enforcement is happening now and seemingly along different timelines for different bars, Matthews said business owners are responsible “to conduct due diligence to ensure they meet current codes and operate within them.”
The city conducts periodic enforcement checks, annual liquor license inspections, and responds to complaints, according to Matthews.
“When the fire department is made aware of an establishment operating outside of the code we work with them to get them into compliance,” Matthews said.
In March of 2022 when the Inangelos took over the lease for the space at 124 Millbury St. that used to house Nick’s, Mara said they got their license, and that it was “basically a transfer of ” the license that belonged to Nick’s, a bar that frequently had shows with live music.
Due to that, the Inangelos expected to also be able to have live entertainment and other entertainment like karaoke when they opened Steel & Wire.
Then, a week before they were set to open, Mara said the fire department asked if they were going to have entertainment, and informed them that if so, it made the space a nightclub and they would need a sprinkler system.
The department didn’t give them anything in writing though, so they continued to operate like the previous business in the space, according to Mara.
Then during a recent inspection they were told they were operating as a nightclub and would need a sprinkler system to continue to do so.
The Inangelos don’t own the building so it would be up to their landlord to install the sprinkler system, which could cost as much as $100,000 they said. Since the landlord does not have any incentive to put up his own money to install a sprinkler system, the Inangelos said they doubt he would. That means they won’t have live entertainment, DJs or karaoke for the foreseeable future.
The business One Eyed Jack’s Tiki Bar at 433 Park Ave closed in January because it was told by the city it could no longer operate the way it had been without a sprinkler and alarm system. Bar Owner David Thacker was similarly leasing the space and the landlord did move forward with adding a sprinkler system to the space.
“We want everyone to be safe, we have no intention of skirting the law,” Mara said of their decision to move forward without entertainment. “But honestly, it’s given us an opportunity to really focus on our drinks, the atmosphere of the place and not have to book a lot of music.”
Since they knew the enforcement of the building code may be coming, the Inangelos said, they have spent the last year focusing on the drinks and making the bartenders the main focal point of the bar. They have also been trying to create an environment where you can meet up with friends and have a conversation without having to worry about shouting over music.
“The vibe is more focused on conversation and connection and less about the live music experience,” Mara said.
The Inangelos said it is disappointing that they won’t be able to offer gigs to the bands that they have great relationships with, but “it’s not the end of the world.”
They signed on to a five-year lease, Mara said, so they will at least stay in the space for now, but may seek out a space with sprinklers when it runs out, though said a lot can change in three years.
While they understand the fire department is trying to keep people safe, Mara said she suggests that they start letting people know as soon as possible when they’re starting a new business, since if they had known before they had gotten their entertainment license approved, they would have sought out a location with sprinklers instead.
The fire department did give them the option of lowering their occupancy to 49 rather than its current occupancy of 85, but they said they’d rather keep the higher capacity and do away with entertainment since they don’t want to go over capacity on busy nights like the night before Thanksgiving.
The White Eagle is taking a different tact and choosing to install the sprinklers.
The limited capacity and lack of a DJ has really been hurting its bottomline, according to Sargentelli, who has seen a steady decrease in college students coming in over the weekends.
“Friday night used to do $15,000, now it’s doing like $2,000,” Sargentelli said.
She said she asked inspectors to adjust the bar’s capacity to what is allowed for a restaurant, 99 people, which she said would make a huge difference, but that request didn’t go anywhere.
It will cost between $200,000 and $250,000 for White Eagle to install a sprinkler system, she said. The Polish club that owns and operates the bar has enough money to pay for it.
“That was never the issue…we wanted to do it our way, find the right company,” she said.
She said it has taken a couple of months to get the engineering done, and the business digging to the waterline this week. It still has to find a company and they are in the process of accepting bids and selecting one. She is hoping the construction will be done by the end of the year, and is still deciding whether they will close during the construction process.
“I’m so happy that it’s moving along,” Sargentelli said. Once the sprinkler system is installed she said she’s “going to blow the roof right off this building.”
“White Eagle is going to come back bigger and better than ever, it’s going to be the entertainment mecca of the city,” she said.
The Polish club, which moved into the building in 1937, knew it was going to need sprinklers eventually and Sargentelli said it had been “grandfathered” for many years, meaning it wasn’t expected to adapt to new laws.
She said she thinks the city’s been more than lenient with a lot of businesses when it comes to sprinklers and she understands that the new police chief is “very by the book.” Martin Dyer became acting fire chief in 2021 and was appointed to the permanent position in February.
Other bars in Worcester that have been having live entertainment and DJs at night without sprinkler systems told the Worcester Guardian that they expect continuing to operate the way they are will be short lived and they expect inspectors will soon be enforcing the code at their locations.
“It’s only a matter of time,” one bar owner said.
Kiernan Dunlop is an award-winning journalist who has spent the past five years reporting in Worcester, New Bedford and Antigua and Barbuda. She’s been published in Bloomberg, USA Today, Canary Media, MassLive, and the New Bedford Standard Times, among other outlets. She can be contacted at kdunlop@theworcesterguardian.org
