At the Nov. 3 Seekonk (MA) Board of Selectmen meeting, members suspended Seekonk Hospitality Group’s liquor license until they filed updated paperwork with the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC). The snag forced The Ramada Inn and the adjacent Di Parma Restaurant – which uses the license to serve patrons – to remove all alcohol from the premises.
After the announcement was announced, Di Parma owner Teddy Zembolous said that he wanted to make the situation right.
Di Parma opened in July and is still trying to build its business. “It’s like you trying to work without a pen,” a bartender at Di Parma told the website patch.com. “I’m a bartender with no booze.”
The Selectmen maintain that their actions were warranted and necessary.
“It was a difficult decision, but it wasn’t made lightly,” said Chairman Bob Richardson. “They had six months to get it right.”
“It was more like nine months,” said selectman David Parker. “They submitted paperwork three or four times and each time it was wrong,” Parker continued, “Somebody could have come after us for giving them too much slack.”
Di Parma owners now must bring their latest set of paperwork before the board on the Wednesday, Nov. 24, meeting, for approval. If the paperwork passes the board’s inspection, it will go to the ABCC.
