PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The Providence Board of Licenses met Wednesday to discuss Mi Sueño Disco, a Broad Street club that was the site of a brawl over the weekend.
The board ruled that the bar may reopen Thursday, but with heightened security and no glass cups. They also voted not to allow a car show that’s held there on Sundays in the fall.
“The public’s eyes are on this incident and with the car show this weekend, I am not confident we can sit here today and say it would be perfectly safe for people to attend,” Board of Licenses Chair Dylan Conley explained.
Nick Hemond, the bar’s defense attorney, called the decision to cancel the car show “overkill.”
“I think much of this is all caused by the fact the video was so widely disseminated on social media, and this is all a show so that everyone can feel they’re solving a problem that doesn’t exist,” Hemond said.
In the video, people can be seen throwing glass bottles, chairs and food.
Police arrested and seized a ghost gun from Alexander Burgos Cerda, 20, after the fight spilled outside.
Hemond argued the owner of Mi Sueño Disco has been holding the car show for years without issue.
“What they are supposed to do is impose penalties based on a track record of aggressive discipline. This event has been going on since 2014, if not sooner. Every fall he’s done it, summer and fall, and he’s never had an incident before,” he added.
12 News tried to get in contact with the club’s owner but learned he was out of the country.
A show-cause hearing on the matter has been scheduled for Sept. 21.