Embattled Gaffney’s looks to reopen business
Bar owners hope to get license back, serve alcohol again
After being ordered to close by the city of Saratoga Springs and having its liquor license suspended by the State Liquor Authority in the wake of months of violent incidents and scores of police calls, the bar and nightclub Gaffney’s said it wanted to work with officials with an eye toward reopening.
“We respect and intend to comply” with the orders, Gaffney’s management said in a statement on Wednesday. It said their goal is to “rectify this unfortunate situation with the hope of reopening as soon as it is practicable to do so.”
On Monday, the city posted notice of the closure, with Commissioner of Public Safety James Montagnino saying it was because checks submitted to pay for needed inspections and licenses had bounced. Gaffney’s countered that its records show the checks were successfully deposited in March.
On Tuesday, the board of the SLA, voting unanimously at a meeting called specifically to address the Gaffney’s matter, suspended the bar’s liquor license effective immediately. The board was told that there have been three stabbings at Gaffney’s since October, including this past weekend, as well as a “huge melee” in March in which three police officers were injured. Saratoga Springs police recorded 65 reports of officers responding to public safety matters at Gaffney’s from January 2021 to March of this year, the board was told.
Gaffey’s is entitled to a hearing to determine the status of its liquor license as a result of the suspension. The board could take disciplinary action from a monetary fine to cancellation of the license.
Gaffney’s, at 16 Caroline St., has a capacity of more than 500. The holder of the liquor license is listed as a company called Saratoga Hospitality at Gaffney’s, which has had the license since 2017. It was already scheduled for an SLA hearing on Thursday, postponed at Gaffney’s request from an earlier date, but the bar’s attorney on Monday asked for another postponement of the hearing, the SLA board was told. Unlike at a hearing, Gaffney’s is not entitled to address the board during an emergency meeting like Tuesday’s.