With LakeView Tavern closed, the building’s owner wants the liquor license issued to its former tenant returned to him.
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SOUTHWICK — With LakeView Tavern voluntarily closing in early November, the status of its liquor license was discussed during the Select Board’s meeting on Dec. 29 with the restaurant’s owner.
“I understand that Fusion [Bar & Grill] is the owner of the license,” said Ken Eggleston during the meeting while referring to the first tenant he had after rehabbing the former Crabby Joe’s and the liquor license. “But that’s where I really have my problem … that it’s completely taken out of my hands.”
When Eggleston bought the building at 141 Congamond Road in 2022, it was with the liquor license, and he spent the better part of a year updating the building while seeking a new tenant to run the operation. It was Fusion Bar & Grill that opened there first and then its name was changed to LakeView Tavern which closed about six weeks ago.
However, the state’s Alcohol Beverages Control Commission requires the building’s owner to transfer the license to the restaurant’s operator or manager.
“That just hurts me. I have no control over what has happened. None. And I don’t believe that’s right … but I’m happy to do the right thing,” he said, adding that he considered himself the owner of the license despite what the state says. “But I want the license back. The property is basically worthless without [it],” he said.
The town’s Chief Administrative Officer Nicole Parker said the building’s current tenant Demyan Volkov had reapplied for the license renewal, but it was late, there were unpaid bills, like the water bill, and required inspections that needed to be done.
“That wouldn’t necessarily keep us from renewing it in the event there were solid plans to open soon,” she said.
But Parker said, “first and foremost,” the ABCC requires renewal applications to be submitted by Nov. 30, “which didn’t happen until last week.”
There was also an issue with the ABCC.
When LakeView Tavern applied for the renewal, the ABCC returned it without approval because there were some “inaccuracies,” Parker said.
She said LakeView had been essentially using the Fusion alcohol license once the ABCC returned LakeView’s application.
“And they were open all year long,” Parker said of LakeView.
She suggested that it would be “cleaner” to let the license lapse on Dec. 31 and have the applicant apply for a new license.
She also said that if the Select Board were to renew the license, it would be renewing a license that technically doesn’t exist.
If the license isn’t renewed, it goes back to the town and the Select Board decides on which business is allowed to use it.
Select Board member Diane Gale added that the ABCC requires a certificate of good standing and “the owner of the license cannot obtain that at this time.”
Select Board member Douglas Moglin said the best course of action would be for Eggleston to apply for the license, find a new operator and then change the manager from Eggleston to the new manager when the restaurant is ready to open.
“That was my thought as well,” Gale said.
Eggleston said he was asking for the Select Board for help.
“[I’ll] do whatever the right thing is. I’ll spend next week taking care of all of the outstanding debts,” he said.
Moglin acknowledged Eggleston’s concerns.
“All of your points are valid. We’re not closing any doors, but there’s a lot of things that need to happen in order for the license to continue,” he said.
With LakeView closed, Eggleston is looking for a new tenant, one that he and current tenant Demyan Volkov hopes knows the restaurant business.
Eggleston said that the group that opened Fusion before changing its name to LakeView Tavern had issues with the people it hired to operate the 10,000-square-foot facility.
Volkov was at the Select Board meeting on Dec. 29.
“We tried it first year. We tried it second year. It needs somebody with a lot of experience to do it,” Volkov said.
Eggleston confirmed Volkov’s observation of the restaurant’s operations.
“They did not do a good job. They didn’t. They didn’t know what they were doing. And I told them that for a year, but he would never listen to any advice,” Eggleston said.
