A Boston restaurant owner says he’s in trouble with the licensing board after members of the New England Patriots showed up at his business for a late-night celebration after winning the AFC Championship.
According to a police report, officers were called for a noise complaint at Estella on Temple Place around 2:20 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 27. When they arrived, they found a private party going on in the basement of the restaurant. Officers noted that people were drinking and they smelled marijuana. They said security briefly blocked their access on the stairs and that several women who were nude or wearing bikinis ran toward the kitchen area. Officers also noticed several large hookahs in the room.
“Upon checking downstairs, where the party was, the sergeant observed no less than six large hookahs which appeared to be concealed underneath tables. The floor was covered with $1 bills and the liquor was mostly full on top of the tables,” the police report reads.
Based on what they saw, Boston police issued a license premise inspection notice for after-hours liquor sales, unauthorized entertainment and indoor smoking. Based on the restaurant’s license, events have to end at 2 a.m.
At a hearing before the Mayor’s Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing on Friday, owner Helder George Brandao said the private party involved members of the New England Patriots.
Brandao said he asked the group to wrap things up and claimed they brought in their own entertainment and alcohol. The party was taking place in a separate space from the main restaurant.
He acknowledged that rules were broken and apologized, but described it as a difficult situation involving “entitled people.”
“We accept full responsibility for this matter. We are currently conducting an internal review to ensure this does not happen again. We have no further statement at this time while we focus on our resolution efforts,” the owner told NBC10 Boston on Tuesday.
Licensing officials had questions about the alleged violations and said this was not the first time issues have been reported with the establishment.
“I did spend 38 minutes yesterday reviewing body cam footage and I’m greatly concerned you had some unauthorized entertainment,” Executive Director of Consumer Affairs and Licensing Kathleen Joyce said during the meeting.
The Boston Licensing Board will decide what sanctions are warranted at a meeting on Thursday morning. We’ve reached out to the Patriots for comment but have not yet heard back.