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Council removes one liquor applicant from lottery, grants another; denies Pine House hour-extension after police and neighbors raise concerns
Summary
The Tiverton Town Council on June 9 removed one package-store applicant from a license lottery for fitness concerns, granted a second applicant a fourth Class A package-store license subject to legal requirements, and denied a restaurant's request to extend hours after police and neighbors described repeated late-night noise and alleged after-hours service.
The Tiverton Town Council considered multiple liquor-license matters on June 9, removing one package-store application from consideration while approving another, and separately denied a restaurant's request to extend its alcohol and entertainment hours.
Package-store licenses: Two applicants sought a newly authorized fourth package-store Class A license. During review of the first applicant, L & T LLC (d/b/a Sekonic/Sekhanat Liquors), councilors raised concerns about prior criminal incidents on the applicant's record dating to the mid-2000s and early 2010s. After council discussion that cited arrests and convictions on matters including driving offenses and domestic incidents, the council voted not to move that application forward into the lottery process.
The council then considered East Horizon Inc. (d/b/a Hot Shot Liquors, applicant Mohammed Kara) and, after public comment and council discussion about location and design, voted to grant the class-A package-store license to East Horizon Inc., subject to the applicant meeting all legal requirements (insurance, final paperwork and any regulatory conditions) before a license will issue.
Pine House Kitchen and Bar: The council held a public hearing on an application by Pine House (13 Crandall Road) to extend its licensed hours. Neighbors testified the restaurant has repeatedly operated after permitted hours and that music and noise had continued into the early morning on multiple occasions. The police department told the council it opposed an extension, saying officers had responded multiple times and observed alleged after-hours service and other violations; the administrator said he would prepare a show-cause report. The council voted to deny the requested hour extension; members said the denial was tied to the pending police concerns and ongoing enforcement issues.
Why it matters: liquor licenses and hours-of-operation determine where and when alcohol may be sold and consumed in town; the council exercised its statutory discretion to refuse to move forward with an applicant when councilors cited concerns about fitness and public-safety implications, and it denied an hours-extension request while police investigations and neighbor complaints remain unresolved.
What's next: the applicant granted subject to meeting requirements must complete the paperwork and satisfy legal conditions before the town issues a final license. Separately, the Pine House denial does not preclude the proprietor from later reapplying; the police department said it would prepare a show-cause report on recent alleged violations.
