The operator of the 510 Johnny's bar and restaurant in Bel Air has been cited by the Harford County Liquor Control Board for not setting and displaying a fire code capacity to ensure patrons' safety during live music events.
Board members decided during a recent show cause hearing with licensee Nicholas Tsirlis to postpone taking any action for 30 days, however, as Tsirlis is working with a local architectural firm and the Office of the State Fire Marshal to develop floor plans and determine an appropriate capacity.
"I think this is truly a safety issue," Liquor Board Chairman Michael Thomson said during the June 10 hearing. "Where the fault lies is where I'm having a problem with it. I think we have some responsibility to correct that problem."
Tsirlis is the resident licensee for 510 Johnny's, which opened earlier this year in the Marketplace Drive previously occupied by the former Bellissimo bar and restaurant. Tsirlis was also the licensee for that establishment.
He met with the board during an April 8 public hearing to discuss the capacity issue. Prior to that meeting, liquor board members had expressed some surprise when they learned the Tsirlis was installing a stage and making other changes to accommodate live entertainment at what had previously been a sit-down restaurant.
The capacity issue came up after Charlie Robbins, the board's chief inspector, had inspected the establishment and did not see any placards displayed to indicate what the maximum crowd capacity is when a portion of the restaurant is converted into a live music venue with a stage, compared to the capacity regarding normal bar and restaurant operations that is part of 510 Johnny's liquor license.
Tsirlis was required to provide floor plans to the Fire Marshal's Office that show how the layout of the restaurant changes for concerts and what the crowd capacity is then, according to a report from Inspector Danielle Markette.
Markette told the board that she talked to Bill Jiles, the fire safety inspector for the Bel Air office of the Office of the State Fire Marshal, on May 15, and Jiles told her that he had not received any floor plans from Tsirlis.
Tsirlis was then cited for failing to cooperate with the liquor board and failing to operate in a "safe and prudent manner," according to Markette's report.
Tsirlis and his attorney, Joseph Snee of Bel Air, disputed the inspector's account. Snee provided a chronology of what his client, the Fire Marshal's Office and the Polt Design Group, of Bel Air, have been doing since the April 8 public hearing.
Snee said Tsirlis had "hand-delivered" floor plans to the Fire Marshal's Office two days after the public hearing.
Snee said his client hired the Polt Design Group, and Tsirlis, the architects, Jiles and Harry Bradley, the senior fire protection engineer for the Fire Marshal's Office, are working to determine an appropriate capacity.
Snee said later that Doug Polt, of the Polt Design Group, "hand-delivered" an occupancy count to him just before the June 10 liquor board meeting.
"Mr. Polt then needs to sit down with Bill Jiles and Harry Bradley to have a meeting of the minds on the occupancy levels," the lawyer said.