A Southington bar is making preparations to reopen after the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) ordered they shut down late last month.
State officials ordered the shutdown of 75 Center on Center Street after a woman allegedly stabbed two bouncers and bit a third.
Police arrested Heidi Montes, 24, of Wallingford along with her brother, Adrian Montes, 28, of Springfield, Massachusetts, and Stuart Chase, 32, of Leeds, Massachusetts, after an altercation that led to the violent stabbings.
The police department said they were called to the bar on March 23 for a large fight and assault that began inside and continued outside. It happened around 1:30 a.m.
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According to court documents, a bouncer was “attempting to escort several parties out of the bar who were having a verbal dispute” which included Heidi and Adrian Montes, and Stuart Chase. When they continued “verbal and aggressive behavior” they were told to leave, but didn’t, the incident report states.
That’s when bouncers physically removed them from the establishment, and the situation escalated. According to police, two employees had stab wounds to the head, neck and face after the incident.
Southington's police chief said the department has been called to the restaurant nine times in the past year. The calls included drug overdoses, physical altercations, intoxicated person calls, firearm calls and more.
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After the incident, 75 Center said they are making a few major changes to improve the safety of their visitors and staff.
In a statement, the restaurant said they will be enforcing a dress code and changing their music format to reflect their new atmosphere. There will also be added video surveillance.
The restaurant said they will deny entry if you're drunk, and they say weapons of any kind will not be permitted.
Security staff has been retrained and they will use wand-detection devices before you can enter. They're looking to hire more security staff, and they plan to reopen on Friday.
NBC Connecticut has reached out to the DCP for more information but has not yet heard back.
