CT bar set to reopen after suspension following stabbing of two bouncers

A Southington bar whose liquor license was suspended after two bouncers were stabbed last month was expected to reopen on Friday.

The announcement was made via a social media account for 75 Center and stated the bar would have new policies in place aimed at making the establishment safer, which reportedly will include “re-trained security staff” who will search guests and their bags and use a metal detector wand.

“These ‘new and improved’ means of safety will be implemented to ensure that we all have a fun time and return home to our loved ones,” 75 Center wrote.

The statement, which referred to the new policies as “major changes,” said the bar will have more surveillance camera views that are recording. Staff at the bar will also turn down anyone who arrives and appears visibly intoxicated, the statement continued.

Guests will also be required to ensure any weapon that they did not leave at home is left in their vehicle, as patrons will be required to be “weapon free,” according to 75 Center. Patrons will also be required to present a valid identification to verify their age.

The reopening comes after the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection suspended the bar’s liquor license indefinitely on March 25, two days after a fight broke out at the bar in the early morning hours and spilled out onto Center Street, leading to Wallingford woman allegedly stabbing two bouncers with a “wand shank” she had on her keychain, according to the Southington Police Department.

According to police, bar staff intervened in an argument involving 28-year-old Adrian Montes and 32-year-old Stuart Chase, both from Massachusetts, before things escalated and bouncers tried to escort them to the door. Police said Chase punched a bouncer in the face, starting a fight.

During the fight, Heidi Montes, Adrian Montes’ sister, allegedly took out a wand shank and pepper spray that were on her keychain and threatened to stab the bouncers, according to police.

Police allege she sprayed pepper spray at a bouncer before stabbing him in the left side of his face. She then allegedly stabbed a second bouncer multiple times in the head and neck, according to police.

A total of three bouncers suffered injuries during the attack, including two who were taken to the hospital. Heidi Montes, Adrian Montes and Chase were all taken into custody at the scene and charged.

In a letter dated March 25 to the state’s Liquor Control Division, Southington Police Chief John Daly said police have received nine calls for service at 75 Center over the past year.

These included calls for “patrons overdosing on drugs inside the establishment, physical altercations that started inside the establishment and spill out onto the sidewalk in front of the establishment, intoxicated patrons passing out inside the establishment and needing medical attention, two calls (involving patrons) … leaving the establishment and then pulled firearms out and pointed them at people in front of the establishment, (and) patrons with firearms inside the establishment,” Daly stated.

The Department of Consumer Protection issued an indefinite suspension of 75 Center’s liquor license after finding three additional complaints predating Daly’s query for incidents that reportedly occurred between October and December 2022.

These included reports of a disturbance in the bar involving intoxicated guests, a woman who alleges a patron threw a bottle at her after the two accidentally bumped and an incident in which two people said they were “jumped” in the bar and across the street, according to the department.

According to state records reviewed Friday, 75 Center’s liquor license has been listed as “active” with an expiration date of May 9.

A spokesperson for the Department of Consumer Protection did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A representative of 75 Center could not be reached for comment Friday.