A popular waterfront Middle River restaurant and nightclub -- which was the scene of a parking lot fight that sent three people to the hospital in June -- is scheduled to face a Baltimore County Liquor Board hearing for an alleged disturbing the peace violation in connection with loud music a month earlier.
River Watch Restaurant & Marina liquor license owners, Traci and Mark Sullivan, are scheduled to appear before the county liquor board for a show cause hearing on Aug. 15. The restaurant is located in the 200 block of Nanticoke Road.
According to documents reviewed by Patch, River Watch is accused of continuing to play music in a manner that is “in clear violation of the law.” Riverwatch is also accused of continuing to “disturb the peace, tranquility, safety, health and quiet” of the surrounding neighborhood.
Some of the alleged violations stem from incidents that occurred on May 19 and “throughout” Memorial Day weekend. One local complainant wrote to the liquor board that the the owner of River Watch had been approached regarding the music but to no avail.
A special investigation was requested by the liquor board and Precinct 11 police officers are expected to appear for the hearing.
More recently, three men were transported to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, including one who was stabbed, . Baltimore County police arrived at the restaurant around 11:45 p.m., on June 26 and observed several groups of people arguing throughout the parking lot of the restaurant.
Part two: How can anyone complain about a few acts of random violence at a bar/nightclub? Isn’t that one of the reasons for prohibition? People drink, they get stupid, and unfortunately this results in random violence. I guess the residence of Nanticoke would prefer to have their own prohibition of a viable business. Look at it in a way that affects us all; no tax money to repay this rejuvenation expense, equals wasted tax dollars. The hypothetical: Perhaps we should shut down the Silver Dome while we are at it. A few years ago, a nut brandished a gun while drinking at the bar. The police were called, this lead to a chase that ended on my street with the police shooting the man dead. Is this the fault of the establishment? NO! http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2007-01-07/news/0701070178_1_toohey-baltimore-county-fatally-shoot-man The short of it, don’t buy a house by a bar, and then complain that there is a local bar disturbing your evenings.
We are not complaining because business picked up. We are complaining because o the problems it is bringing to the community. I don't want to see them shut down. I would like things back the way they were a few wyears ago. Mark himself admitted that he knows he is drawing a bad crowd and is working on things to bring back the calmer more family oriented atmosphere. How can a place go from fine dining to a drugs, fights, and more. It just makes no sense.
Lets face the facts. The changes at River Watch were designed to drawl in the younger crowd. If the place made less money with the new crowd management would bring back the old crowd, apparently that is not the case. The high profit product at any bar is not the food, it is the booze. Any idiot can pull a beer out of the cooler. Good food requires talent. Talent cost money!
Second and most important, the handful of houses on Nanticoke Road were built along the water dating back to the 1920's. Around that time the property at the end of Nanticoke Road was known as Steins. Along the way it became Sea Gull Inn and eventually River Watch. To say don't buy a house by a bar really doesn't apply here. Many waterfront properties are still in the same family as the original building family from the 20's. Those houses were there long before there was any kind of commercial operation at the end of Nanticoke Road. When a business moves into an area it should blend in, not cause problems. It is that non-blending that has the area upset and bringing about the action as a result of the owners ignoring the complaints from the surrounding property owners.
Dress Code (As of June 30, 2011) No baseball hats worn sideways No ski or skull caps No hoodie shirts or hooded jackets No jogging suits, jerseys or sweatsuits of any kind No men’s tank tops allowed Over long shirts, those that hang below pants pockets, must be tucked in No baggy/sloppy clothes, including shorts below the knees or sitting below the hips No camouflage No colors or support wear All women must wear cover-ups over their bathing suits Everyone must wear shirts and shoes when on RW property If you look under 35 expect to be carded, we reserve the right to confiscate any ID we believe is not legal We reserve the right to refuse anyone entry into our establishment, and/or the right to ask anyone to leave Manners Matter & Attitude Counts!!
He also said that if the current change in the customers is a trend, many of the customers that actually spend money in the establishment may choose to go elsewhere. If any one has any doubts about the particular type of clientele and it's impact on a business, one only needs to look at the recent problems at the Inner Harbor with the roving groups of young crowds and the chaos they can cause. Why do you think they tore down the Golden Ring Mall? It's a little like making a good cocktail except in most cases, bars in residential communities is a bad mix. fed up, you are living the nightmare. You walk the walk and talk the talk. I don't drink and would go down there once in a while and seeing is believing. What is amazing is that I'm 63 and when I do go out I see the same faces I saw when I was 33. Mike, how do you expect a bar owner to make things safe when the cops can't. That's a tall drink --- I mean order.
When RW had bands like , River Rats, Spin, Krystal Klear, The New Romance, Faded Image. We did not have the rift coming in with all the fighting. But now that Boesche is there and the advertising to all of maryland to come to the RW it is nothing but trouble. I would not wnt to keep my boat at this marina with the noise and the rift coming in either. Bottom line is Mark is a party man and Traci is a business women Traci has her hands full I believe if Traci had her way there would be No Night life like it is. She is a very smart lady who prefers it to be of a family oriented restaurant. Why not do fund raisers there like some neighbor business do. Special olympics, juvenile diabietes, etc. This would draw in the right kind of crowds and put profit $$$$$$$ in the bbusiness and neighbor hood.
My brother has to battle the, (I won't say it) clientele for the right to his slip that he pays a pretty penny for. He spent a lot of time and money down there but says the obvious change in this type of clientele is driving the mature paying customers away. He did say that the older adult bikers have never caused a problem there and the key word here is adult. Hot button hints of the new patrons include low riding pants, crooked baseball caps and attitudes. Not a good combination for business. Remember, adults is the key word.
In a nutshell the bottom line trumps all.