PITTSFIELD – The alcohol serving hours at Panchos Mexican restaurant have been reduced again by the city’s liquor department due to several new complaints from police.
During a hearing on Monday, the committee ordered the restaurant to close its bar at midnight until further notice, with last call at 11:30 p.m. It was the third time since April of last year that Panchos (154 North Street) appeared before the committee on a disturbance charge.
Following an incident on March 26, 2023, the board ruled that the restaurant must close at midnight for three weeks. In December, the board imposed the same reduction in hours for two months and temporarily revoked the restaurant’s liquor license for one week following a series of reported incidents.
At the Mexican restaurant Panchos, opening hours were reduced and the alcohol license was temporarily suspended.
In March, the board gave the restaurant back some of its hours and allowed the bar to stay open until 1 a.m. after three months of incident-free hours.
After three months of shortened opening hours, the Mexican restaurant Panchos can stay open until 1 a.m. – without disruption
The hearing on Monday put the owners back at square one.
Pittsfield Police Captain Matthew Hill described five reported incidents at the bar from June through the weekend of August 23.
Hill did not yet have a report on the latest incident, but said most of the complaints have been about people gathering on the sidewalk outside the bar and causing a disturbance, or about patrons staying in the restaurant after the posted closing time of 1 a.m.
His overview touched on a handful of incidents: On June 23, an officer was flagged down by a security guard to control the crowd outside after an altercation inside the bar. On July 13, officers broke up what Hill described as a “scuffle” when some of those involved began shoving each other. On August 17, officers responded to an alleged fight that had taken place outside.
Hill noted that in the incidents on June 23 and July 13, police were never called by restaurant staff. Officers also described incidents on August 10 and the weekend of August 23 in which people remained in the restaurant after closing time at 1 a.m.
Responding to the complaints on Monday, Panchos owner Gabriel Columna told police that the people who were allegedly at the bar after opening hours were busy cleaning and tried to explain that there were no problems at the restaurant.
Also present was bartender and employee Isadora Auqui, who said patrons at the restaurant ignored requests from security staff to leave the sidewalk, claiming it was a public street and they could do whatever they wanted.
Auqui also said that sometimes staff would be at the restaurant after closing time to clean up, count money and pay for security or entertainment after the fact. In response to Officer Caleb Cimini’s statement that he saw people leaving the restaurant around 1:45 a.m., Auqui said that cleanup could take up to 45 minutes on some nights.
She went on to say that the bar staff take their responsibility not to overcrowd patrons seriously, recalling a recent example when a group of seemingly drunk people came from another bar and were refused entry. She said it can be difficult to deal with patrons who come from other establishments or bring their own alcohol.
The restaurant’s doors will be locked at 12:30 a.m., the lights will come on at 1 a.m. and people will be escorted out, she said.
Howard Siegel, owner of H&S Investigations Group, which provides security for the restaurant, noted at the meeting that the alleged incidents did not occur inside.
“We’ve done our best to keep everything out,” Siegel said. “The best thing we can do is ask people to leave. As far as the sidewalk goes, once they’re gone, we have no jurisdiction whatsoever.”
After hearing Hill’s reports, Licensing Committee member Kathleen Amuso proposed again reducing the restaurant’s opening hours – an idea that was unanimously approved by the other members present.
“I hate to say it, but when we allowed you to play the last round and close later, you came back here to do the same thing… it seems you couldn’t handle the crowd,” Amuso said.
