BY KEITH LACEY
ItÂ?s going to be a very dismal Christmas for more than 30 employees and the new owner of one of SudburyÂ?s most popular nightspots.
 |
At around 12:30 pm Friday, an inspector with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario walked into the Coulson Hotel and told management he was shutting down the establishment.
He ordered all liquor removed and told management they might as well send all staff home because the bar was effectively being shut down, said Christine Scopazzi, adminstrative officer for the hotel.
The inspector said he was closing the bar down because the new owners of the hotel had not yet received a proper liquor licence from the Liquor Licence Board of Ontario (LLBO), said Scopazzi.
Her former brother-in-law John Scopazzi (Christine is the ex-wife of JohnÂ?s brother Chuck) owned the Coulson Hotel and Scola Apartments for 23 years before selling it to Devshi Romalia, a Toronto business owner in early November.
Everyone who works at the bar was under the impression that as long as Scopazzi agreed to continue working for Romalia, the liquor licence issued in ScopazziÂ?s name would continue until Romalia received his own licence in the near future, said Christine Scopazzi.
Â?We honestly felt we could continue under JohnÂ?s licence,Â? said Scopazzi. Â?We sent all the proper applications for a new licence for Mr. Romalia on Nov. 1 and we didnÂ?t hear a thing from anyone at the LLBO. So I again phoned
in mid-November and a young lady in charge of the file said it was out of her hands, and the file had been turned over to the investigations branch.
Â?I again asked for more information about when we could expect the new licence for Mr. Romalia and again nothing...all of a sudden we get the call this (Friday) morning and weÂ?re told to expect a visit from an inspector at noon.Â?
The inspector paid a visit shortly after noon and spoke to Mr. Romalia and Â?told him he was operating a bar illegally...and was pulling the licence.Â?
Romalia had no choice but to comply and after more than two dozen staff helped remove all beer and liquor, he told 30 staff he had no choice but to lay them off and ordered them to go home, said Scopazzi.
Â?This is just unbelievable,Â? she said. Â?Can you imagine doing this to 30 people the week before Christmas.
Â?I phoned the LLBO and tried to get information about the new licence, and they put me through red tape after red tape and never gave me an answer and then all of the sudden they show up here today and close us down.Â?
The inspector told Romalia heÂ?s going to have to fill out all kinds of paperwork Â?and indulge basically his total life historyÂ? before any kind of approval for a new liquor licence can be expected, said Scopazzi.
With Christmas only a few days away and many government offices operating with a barebones staff, Scopazzi doesnÂ?t expect Romalia will receive his new licence until at least early in the new year.
Â?The inspector told us he couldnÂ?t give any time frame on when we might expect to get the new licence,Â? she said. Â?I canÂ?t believe 30 good employees have lost their jobs the week before Christmas.Â?
The week in between Christmas and New YearÂ?s is one of the busiest for The Coulson and many other establishments and this decision is going to severely hurt business, said Scopazzi.
The rock band Elevation, which plays a tribute to superstar Irish rock group U2, were scheduled to play Friday and Saturday and they always draw huge crowds, said Scopazzi.
One large group of people from Sault Ste. Marie phoned ahead Friday morning to ensure the group was playing.
They will arrive in town only to find out whatÂ?s happened and will surely be severely disappointed, she said.
Romalia said he canÂ?t believe this has happened to him.
Â?I really believed the existing licence was fine under the auspices of John Scopazzi...I was never told anything differently,Â? he said. Â?I was under the impression we would operate with the old licence until my licence was
approved.
Â?This is a great blow. To have to tell 30 employees the week before Christmas that theyÂ?re being laid off has not been easy. I just never expected this.Â?
There had better be some good answers to explain what happened Friday, said Scopazzi.
Â?We keep crying for people to come and invest in this community and stuff like this happens,Â? she said.
Â?Mr. Romalia invested his life savings and brought his family to this community and within a few weeks his
business is shut down without any real explanation. This is not right.Â?
Northern Life attempted to contact the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario Friday afternoon, but calls
were not returned by press time.
