In denying the permit, Mayor Domenic Sarno cited a disturbance involving an intoxicated patron at the club that required police to restore order.
The Bridge Street nightclub Sinners and Saints is seen here during the City Block Concert Series in July.SPRINGFIELD – The downtown nightclub Sinners and Saints on Bridge Street has been denied a Sunday entertainment license and will have to close each Saturday by midnight, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno announced Friday.
Sarno denied a Sunday permit for the club, citing a Jan. 23 disturbance involving an intoxicated patron at the club that required the police to restore order. In the disturbance, 25 to 30 watched as it spilled out into the street and blocked traffic.
The decision comes following a recent hearing before the licensing officer.
Sarno, the city’s appointing authority for entertainment licenses, cited the failure of club security to prevent the disturbance, the unnecessary demand it placed on police resources, and the potential for injury to members of the public.
“The city will not allow public safety to be compromised because of this type of nonsense,” he said in prepared statement.
In compiling the report of the disturbance, police at the scene learned that the club did not have the required entertainment license to operate on Sundays.
Sarno said the owners of the club compounded matters by waiting two months before approaching the License Commission about obtaining the proper license, which he interpreted to mean the violation was not a simple administrative oversight.
An entertainment license is required if an establishment provides customers with television, juke boxes, pinball games and varying forms of live entertainment. The license itself has two tiers, one for Monday through Saturday, and one specifically for Sundays.
Sinners and Saints, located in the site of the former Salty Dog Saloon, has been in business since last summer.