With the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board at one ear and an attorney for three State College bars at the other, a Centre County judge opted Tuesday to postpone his decision on the revocation of Sammark, Inc.'s liquor license.
Instead, he'd like the two parties to work it out themselves.
Centre County Judge David Grine moved back Tuesday's hearing between the PLCB and Sammark, the parent company of Lulu's Nightspot, 129 1/2 S. Pugh St.; Tony's Big Easy, 129 S. Pugh St; and the Candy Bar & Lounge, 129 S. Pugh St., encouraging the two parties to reach an agreement, Sammark attorney Francis X. O'Brien said. The two parties will reappear in court next Friday.
The PLCB revoked Sammark's liquor license in July, citing "a pattern of cited violations and risk of safety to the public" including happy hour violations and the sale of alcohol to minors. The three bars jointly operate under the single liquor license.
Sammark appealed the decision to Grine, who in December ruled in the PLCB's favor. Sammark plans to appeal again, but the question remains: Can the three bars sell alcohol in the interim when they've already been ruled against twice?
The answer is yes, at least until Grine makes his decision Jan. 16. But in the interim, he'd like Sammark and the PLCB to talk it out, O'Brien said.
"The judge continued the matter to give the parties the opportunity to see if they could come up with some sort of agreement to settle the litigation," O'Brien said.
A large part of the PCLB's concern is the alleged impact on the community from the establishments, O'Brien said.
"We'd like to come up with ways to fix that through conversation," he said.
The hearing is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be held at the Centre County Courthouse.
PLCB Press Secretary Nick Hays declined to comment on the matter.
