Shirley Ave. restaurants hear complaints of late-night music, disturbances
By Barbara Taormina
REVERE – The Licensing Commission, at their July meeting, reigned in several local businesses that appeared to be clashing with residents in surrounding neighborhoods.
Lupita’s on Shirley Avenue and La Hacienda on Revere Street were ordered by the Commission to scale back hours of operation and hours of entertainment in the face of complaints from neighbors near both places that cited excessive noise, fights, disorderly conduct, gluts of cars that take all residential parking and alleged drunken driving.
Residents on Shirley Avenue say it’s impossible to sleep with the music coming from Lupita’s and with the noisy crowds that gather on the street and in the parking lot as they leave the restaurant. Several residents spoke to the Commission and stressed the neighborhood is home to many seniors, veterans and children whose lives are being disrupted by the late-night disturbances.
Lupita’s owner said he is planning on insulating and soundproofing the building and he submitted an estimate for the work to the commission. He also said Lupita’s is not the only restaurant and bar in the Shirley Avenue neighborhood and patrons of other places are also taking parking spaces. But residents who live close to Lupita’s say they no longer feel safe coming home from work late at night and walking through aggressive crowds to get to their front doors.
Commissioners felt Lupita’s, which was initially opened as a restaurant, had exceeded the limits of its license and was operating as a night club.
Commission Chairman Robert Selevitch said had Lupita’s owners come before the commission to expand their entertainment license, he suggested he wasn’t sure it would be approved.
“It’s gone too far,” said one neighbor who works at night in Boston and can never find a parking space when he gets home. “The problem for Lupita’s is the noise never stops.”
Lupita’s owner agreed to roll back the hours for music having it end at 11:30 pm and closing the doors at midnight. Commissioners encouraged the owner to live with the new hours for a couple of months and if all goes well, he can apply to extend those hours.
A second hearing was held to discuss a set of similar complaints neighbors have made about La Hacienda on Revere Street. Residents complained not about the music of a mariachi band which plays until 11 pm, but about a disc jockey who takes over at 11 pm and pumps up the volume until 2 am. Revere Street residents also have the same problem with noisy late-night crowds and no parking left for homeowners and residents.
The big difference between Lupita’s and La Hacienda is that the owners of La Hacienda have tried to work with the neighborhood to address concerns.
But the Commission pointed out that the restaurant did not have an entertainment license for a DJ. La Hacienda agreed with the Commission that the quickest and easiest solution is to eliminate the DJ which would solve the noise and crowd issues. They also agreed to scale back closing times to 1 am and to return to the commission if they wanted to add a DJ with the proper license.
The Commission also held a hearing on a complaint about serving customers past closing time at Capri on North Shore Road. But the complaint was a year old and the only complaint filed against the restaurant. The owners said it was a mistake and they have been cautious ever since. The commission said the complaint would be kept on file and would return if there were any other problems.
Commissioners acknowledged that some of these problems were crowd issues not the direct problem of the establishments. But residents argued that residential neighborhoods are not an appropriate site for a night club.