Framingham restaurant hit with suspensions, found to be operating as a nightclub

FRAMINGHAM — City officials on Monday voted to briefly suspend a Brazilian barbecue restaurant's liquor license and to temporarily suspend its entertainment license after the restaurant faced allegations of operating as a nightclub.

The Board of License Commissioners voted to suspend Café Belo's liquor license after it was found to be operating under "nightclub conditions" by the city's public safety departments. The board voted 4-1 to suspend the restaurant's liquor license for three consecutive days within 30 days of the decision, which was made during Monday's meeting.

However, during the meeting, board members also raised questions about the type of entertainment being held at Café Belo, consequentially leading board members to vote 3-2 to suspend the restaurant's entertainment license for 14 days, pending a decision from Mayor Charlie Sisitsky on whether to suspend the license on Sundays.

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Commissioner Alycia DeAngelis was the lone no vote on the liquor license suspension, pointing to social media evidence of the nightclub activities.

Café Belo, which opened in early 2023, is at 2 Beacon St., a location where previous establishments had multiple alcohol violations, including Angry Ham's Garage and Beacon Street Bar & Grill, the former of which was featured on the reality television show " Bar Rescue " back in 2011.

Police Department objected to restaurant staying open until 2 a.m.

Concerns were previously raised when Café Belo applied for an all-alcohol restaurant license and common victualer license in June 2022.

In a letter to the licensing board at the time, Lt. Thomas McCarthy , the licensing bureau commander for the Framingham Police Department , said a 2 a.m. closing would be a risk to public safety because Framingham has few public transportation and cab options for those who can’t drive after drinking at the establishment; additionally, he wrote, the rate of pedestrian fatalities does not make walking home a safe option, either.

McCarthy told the board during Monday night's meeting that Louis Costa, Café Belo's manager and owner, was cooperating with the investigation.

In addition, Costa said he had already begun to make changes in order to make sure the overcrowding doesn't happen again. Costa told the board he has two employees standing at the doors checking and counting the number of patrons coming in. He later said he has private security on-site, but was unable to provide the name of the security vendor when asked.

Liquor and entertainment licenses suspended at Brazilian restaurant

The allegations of nightclub activities stem from a March incident in which Framingham Police and Fire personnel responded to a medical incident. While the incident was unfounded, public safety officials observed Café Belo operating over capacity with loud music and lowered lights.

According to the state, a nightclub is defined as a place with high occupant load density with features such as low lighting; music above normal sound levels; nighttime operating hours; tables and seating that create ill-defined aisles; a specific area designated for dancing; and a serving facility for beverages with limited food service.

Licensing Board members raised concerns that Café Belo was violating its entertainment license, which permitted for acoustic guitar and a DJ with a keyboard. Multiple board members brought up the social media accounts of Café Belo, which advertise bands and have videos of large groups of people.

"Acoustic is meaning just the guitar, not any amplifier on it; that's the spirit of that entertainment license," Licensing Board Chair Stu Pologe told Costa.

“I’m seeing a video here on Instagram for the Carnival Belo and you could see people dancing,” Commissioner Laura Medrano added. “There is a band, there are women in little clothes — this is not a restaurant with an acoustic guitar.”

Owner also agrees to pay $300 fee; mayor to determine Sunday status

However, both Pologe and Medrano were the no votes on the vote to suspend the entertainment license after Commissioner Shannon McCollough made the motion to suspend the entertainment for license for 14 days. Medrano said 14 days will damage the business, which she did not want to have happen.

Along with the liquor license suspension, Costa agreed to pay $300 in administrative fees. He is not allowed to appeal the liquor license decision as part of the deal.

Decisions about entertainment on Sundays are made by the mayor, meaning the entertainment license suspension's enforcement on Sundays is up to Sisitsky.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Framingham restaurant hit with suspensions, found to be operating as a nightclub