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State Liquor Authority summarily suspends King and Queen Cantina after council counsel cites shooting and alleged evidence tampering
Summary
The State Liquor Authority voted to summarily suspend King and Queen Cantina’s license after counsel reported a June 29 shooting tied to the premises and video evidence suggesting the owner removed surveillance equipment; commissioners cited immediate risk to public safety.
The State Liquor Authority voted to summarily suspend the license for King and Queen Cantina in Rochester after the office of counsel presented evidence linking the premises to multiple violent incidents and, officials said, apparent tampering with surveillance equipment.
David Ynachko, a senior attorney in the council's office, told the board the action was prompted by “a report of shots fired on 06/29/2025,” and described police discoveries at the scene: a blood trail, a bullet casing and video that, he said, showed the owner handling and removing DVR equipment after the shooting. Ynachko said officers later found a micro‑SD card that retained video and that a detective's affidavit recounts attempts to recover surveillance that were frustrated by removed or missing equipment. “When Rochester police looked at it, they saw video capturing the owner entering the kitchen a few minutes after the shots are fired, taking the DVR system … and throwing it up into the air fryer vent,” Ynachko said on the record.
Commissioners said the agency's mandate to protect public health and safety compelled prompt action. Commissioner Edgar De Leon called the incidents and the owner’s alleged conduct “very egregious,” noting prior calls to the premises and what he described as a pattern of violent responses and resistance to police investigations. Chair Lily Fan — who presided over the hearing — said, taking counsel’s evidence into account, she would find an imminent threat to public safety and voted to suspend the license pending further disciplinary proceedings.
The summary suspension is effective immediately; counsel requested further disciplinary action and the board said the office of counsel would pursue the next steps. The board did not resolve related criminal matters; Ynachko said police had arrested the owner on a charge of tampering with physical evidence and the matter remains subject to criminal process.
