Federal Hill restaurant ordered to keep manager off premises, close early after officer assault

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Strict safety protocols were put in place over the weekend for a restaurant on Federal Hill.

The changes come after an incident involving a customer biting a Providence police officer.

The Providence Board of Licenses determined that Saje Kitchen will have to close at midnight on Friday and Saturday.

The establishment will also not be able to use its second floor.

Dylan Conley, Chairman of the board, said Saje manager Andre Samuel will not be allowed on the premises this weekend due to his affiliation with an incident over the weekend.

It is unknown at this time how Samuel was involved.

“We have to put public safety first so we want some safety measures in place but we don’t necessarily have the details on what happened, what didn’t happen, who’s responsible, usually that takes a week or two to hash out,” Conley explained.

“Closing early really changes the clientele, as you get later in the night, you also get later into the level of intoxication that people have. In our experience with the board, an establishment that closes at 12 is very different than an establishment closing at one or two a.m.,” he said.

The restrictions come after Providence police were called to Saje Kitchen two days in a row for multiple license violations that have not been fixed from previous citations.

“Multiple incidents are indicative of a pattern, are not mistakes,” Conley said. “Patterns are behavior.”

The incident over the weekend resulted in a customer biting and punching a police officer, and resulted in the arrest of 27-year-old Taylor Martone.

Bob Terino lives across the street from Saje and said the chaos he’s witnessed has got to end.

“If this board did the right thing, they would close them down, and there would be no tears,” Terino said. “It’s out of control, and it should be shut down.”

ABC 6 News reached out to Saje Kitchen and have yet to hear back.

The establishment is due to appear back in front of the board next Wednesday.