By JON BAKER

LINCOLN  ---  The Town Council voted unanimously Tuesday to conduct a show-cause hearing regarding La Cabana, a bar and grille at 141 Reservoir Ave., over a food license that has reportedly expired. The action is the latest in a series of municipal responses to issues at La Cabana that one council member calls “exasperating.”

Acting as the Board of License Commissioners, the vote was 4-0. Councilman Ronald McKenna was absent.
Council President Jeremiah T. O’Grady said Tuesday night that the board recently received communication from the state Department of Health indicating that La Cabana’s food license had expired.
No representative from La Cabana appeared at Tuesday’s session.
The move to slate a show-cause hearing comes less than a month after the most recent interaction involving the club and local law enforcement.
On July 26, at about 11:30 p.m., Patrolmen Ryan Laboissonniere and Richard Bousquet had been dispatched there for a noise complaint. According to a police report, almost 200 people were inside La Cabana late that Saturday night, far above the limit imposed by the town just three months before.
On May 20, the Board of License Commissioners suspended the club’s liquor license for 30 days for failing to pay for Saylesville Fire District firefighter details. That ruling followed an inspection in which the club was found unsafe for lack of a properly functioning sprinkler system.
The board also chose that evening to limit the amount of patrons in the club’s upstairs area to 100.
“We made that decision based on the recommendation of (Saylesville Fire Chief) Dave Almond,” Councilman John Flynn said Tuesday. “According to the police report, the limit we imposed was heavily exceeded, as 192 customers were found inside.
“The way I look at this, what (club owners) did resulted in a serious safety problem, if something had happened,” Flynn added. “We imposed that limit of 100 for a reason … Given the club’s history (for problems forcing police attention), I’ve been really concerned about that club and its safety, especially after we found out about a lack of a working sprinkler system.”
Flynn said a “show-cause hearing” summons the license holder before the board and offers that person or a designee the opportunity to argue against a suspension or other sanction.
“I guess a fine would be the best-case scenario, but I don’t see that happening because this one here is such a blatant violation,” Flynn stated. “(The owners) have had at least three suspensions dating back to January of 2007, when I became a council member, and the last (suspension) ended on June 18 or 19 … The worst-case scenario would be that they have their license revoked, meaning (owners) would have to close.”
Councilman James Jahnz was at least as distressed as Flynn. “If something had happened that night at the club, with such overcrowding, there may have been a tremendous loss of life in an emergency situation. The incident concerns me greatly,” Jahnz said, adding, “Their history has been exasperating.”
Over the years, La Cabana owners have had their liquor license suspended for days or weeks, for matters including alleged attacks both inside and outside the club. Most recently, in May, the club was issued a 30-day suspension for failure to pay approximately $17,400 in fees to Saylesville Fire District personnel, which had worked weekend details at the club.
The show cause hearing will be held next month.