Danvers Tavern Appeals Liquor License Suspension

DANVERS, MA -- Owners of the Osborn Tavern filed an appeal Wednesday of the suspension of its liquor license by the Danvers Board of Selectmen with the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. Liquor law violations reported in November prompted Danvers Selectmen to suspend the Osborn Tavern's liquor license for four days. The tavern served the first day of its suspension, as scheduled, on Wednesday.

"I think it was too stiff a penalty, given the specific facts of the two cases [in November]," James Cote, an attorney for the Osborn, told the Danvers Herald. "My client feels the same way, and that’s why we appealed it."

The remaining three days of the suspension were scheduled to be served after the window for filing an appeal with the ABCC expired. In September, selectmen suspended the Osborn's license for one day but agreed to put off the suspension for one year and waive it if the bar did not violate terms of its license in that time frame.

On Nov. 2 police responded to a report of a fight that was started by a man and woman who were "heavily intoxicated," according to police reports. Then on Nov. 10, police found a man sleeping in his car behind the Osborn because, he told police, he was too drunk to drive home.

Both incidents suggested the bar had over-served customers. The suspensions were approved 4-0, with Selectman Bill Clark abstaining. The September suspension, which stemmed from a July 4 fight where the Osborn's staff did not contact police after having to physically remove a patron who refused to leave. A bar manager suffered a concussion in the altercation.

The troubled tavern's problems extend beyond the alleged liquor license violations. In June, Osborn Tavern LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. According to court documents, the Osborn Tavern has liabilities between $500,000 and $1 million. The case is still pending.

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Dave Copeland can be reached at [email protected] or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).