Board of Licenses revokes all licenses for Club Seven

July 24, 2019 9:58 am

By Amanda Pitts

Email: alpitts@abc6.com

Twitter: @APittsABC6

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – Federal Hill’s Club Seven is officially shut down, as the Providence Board of Licenses voted Wednesday to revoke all of the club’s licenses.

The troubled nightclub has been shut down since June 30, when 28-year-old Stephen Cabral was fatally beaten and stabbed outside of the club by a group of eight people.

“Both the victim and the assailants were inside Seven, and can be seen exiting the premises around 2-4 minutes prior to the altercation,” said Chairperson Dylan Conley while reviewing testimony from the hearing.

undefined

On Wednesday, the Board voted unanimously to revoke all of the club’s licenses, effectively shuttering the nightclub for good. They said aside from the stabbing, the club has prior complaints from both residents and other businesses.

“There are more pending issues at this club than we’ve been able to fully prosecute because they violate the law faster than we can have a hearing,” said Conley.

“It’s not something that we want to see, a business closing on Federal Hill. But their attitude and the mentality that they brought forth to the residents and businesses was very disturbing and very harmful to us,” said Rick Simone from the Federal Hill Commerce Association.

The city argued the club was run irresponsibly by having lax security, bottle service, and entertainment without a license for it.

The board addressed Cabral’s family Wednesday, who has been at the hearings from the start, saying “this should not have happened.” Conley added, that if the owner followed the rules, a tragedy could have been avoided.

“There would have been security in the Caserta parking lot. There would have been no entertainment. There would have been no bottle service. It would have been, I believe, a different atmosphere than the atmosphere that was present on that evening,” said Hemond.

Club Seven’s attorney, Nick Hemond, says the nearly month-long closure was punishment enough. Hemond has appealed for a stay.

“You don’t have an opportunity for a fair hearing here, because there are no rules. Over there you actually have rules, and decorum and evidence is actually weighed,” said Hemond.

The Department of Business Regulation will be holding an initial hearing on the appeal Thursday morning.