NORTHAMPTON — Property magnate Eric Suher has reached agreements to transfer two more of his all-alcohol liquor licenses right before an agreed-upon deadline with the city to use them, transfer them, or lose them.
John Piskor, who opened the Cajun restaurant Gombo on Northampton’s Main Street in May, is acquiring the liquor license attached to The Basement music venue on Center Street. The Basement remains closed and under Suher’s ownership, but the license will allow Gombo to serve more than beer or wine.
“An all-alcohol liquor license will allow for a greater selection for our customer base,” said Piskor in an interview. “It took us until the last moment, but we managed to get it done before the deadline.”
Suher also managed to secure a buyer for The Green Room’s liquor license right before the deadline passed, according to the city. Details regarding the purchase were not available Friday evening.
The Northampton License Commission will now convene on Monday to discuss the revocation of his two remaining liquor licenses.
Nonprofit city music venue The Parlor Room announced Wednesday that it was buying the Iron Horse business and its liquor license from Suher and acquiring a 15-year lease on the building. Chris Freeman, the executive director of The Parlor Room, has said they intend to reopen the Iron Horse early next year.
Piskor told the Gazette he plans at some point to host live music at Gombo on select nights, although the means of doing so were still in the works.
“It’s been tricky so far, but it’s still on schedule,” he said.
Suher reached an agreement with the commission in May giving him until Friday to either transfer his five all-alcohol liquor licenses — the value of just one of which can run up to tens of thousands of dollars — or reopen the music venues to which they belong.
With those three agreements reached, that leaves two licenses that remain under Suher’s control. Under the terms of the agreement, those licenses are now forfeit, with Suher waiving the right to any appeal regarding their cancellations.
The commission had originally revoked Suher’s all-alcohol license for his Pearl Street Nightclub, which has been closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, in a decision made in February. At that time, the commission also gave Suher until June to reopen two other venues, the Green Room and Iron Horse Music Hall, or their licenses also would be revoked.
Suher appealed the commission’s decision to the state’s Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. A hearing had been scheduled to take place in May regarding the appeal, but it was canceled after Suher withdrew his appeal and the updated agreement with a Sept. 29 deadline was reached.
The License Commission will meet remotely on Monday at 4 p.m. to discuss revoking the remaining licenses.
The Green Room, a cocktail bar on Center Street, reopened in August 2021 after closing during the pandemic, but closed again in September 2022. Suher previously told the License Commission that the closure was due to lack of staff and that he was in the process of hiring a new manager. The Basement has been closed since before the pandemic. Pearl Street Nightclub is also closed, while The Calvin remains technically open, but with a limited show schedule that doesn’t meet the conditions set in Suher’s agreement with the commission.
