Noise disputes echo at The Farm

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November 20, 2009

By Jonathan Phelps The Gloucester Daily Times Fri Nov 20, 2009, 12:03 AM EST

ESSEX — Since opening eight months ago, The Farm Bar & Grille has been regular focus of neighbors' concern and calls to police.

During that time, The Farm has been charged with serving alcohol to underage patrons, trash has been left behind in the parking lot, and at least a dozen noise complaints have been made to police over the past couple of months.

While the young business has ironed out many of the problems with the town and neighbors, noise complaints still continue. Now, selectmen — who also serve as the town's licensing board — have been working with the restaurant to address that issue.

In early November, owners of the restaurant sent a letter to selectmen that reads, "due to the increase in complaints of noise at The Farm Bar & Grille during the evenings, we have proactively made the following improvements to help with this issue."

The letter details a Farm plan of action, such as adding more sound barriers, keeping the doors closed while music is playing and having its bouncers disperse crowds as quickly as possible after closing.

But selectmen responded to that letter by suggesting the establishment should also stop any live music at midnight, and said the music should not be able to be heard 10 feet away from the building.

The Farm disagrees with the shutdown time request — and Farm owners have written another letter to selectmen saying that cutting back the music from 12:30 a.m.'s last call to midnight "will clearly jeopardize our business."

The owners of The Farm Bar & Grille as well as Paula Filias, who owns a local apartment complex, met with selectmen Monday night to work out the issues in detail. Filias said she has had three of her 23 apartments in a complex across Western Avenue vacated because of the noise. She came before selectmen in late August saying she had lost one tenant; she returned after losing two more tenants to speak with selectmen again in October.

"I am not against business," said Filias. "I am going to the board in hopes of finding a balance between The Farm business and my own. They're (the selectmen) keeping The Farm in business and putting me out."

She said her tenants moving out because of the noise resulted in a nearly 10 percent loss of revenue. She said it is not only the music that creates the noise, but crowds leaving in the early-morning hours and cars peeling out of the parking lot. Another one of her tenants, she said, has indicated he is losing his patience with the noise and might leave soon as well.

"My concern is I don't know when it will end," Filias said. "We are a family business and we work hard to find good upstanding residents."

Brad Atkinson, who owns The Farm Bar & Grille with Noah Goldstein and Ryan Cox, said yesterday that sound barriers the restaurant had purchased to prevent the noise in the past had broken, causing the noise to once again spill into the street and to the apartment complex across the street. He admits the problem wasn't taken care of fast enough, but he said yesterday that new barriers were installed.

"We don't ever like getting noise complaints," Atkinson said. "And we are working hard to make sure we don't disturb people in the evening."

He said the barriers should fix the problem, but added that the bar does not plan to shut down the music early, as selectmen urged.

In a letter dated Monday, the owners said that "live music will now end at 12:30, the same time as last call." That's the current time for last call, but the music usually continued until at least 12:45 or until the bar closed at 1 a.m.

"It was quite obvious (at Monday night's meeting) that there needs to be some changes to the way entertainment is provided at The Farm," the owners' latest letter reads. "We believe that a large part of our success is due to the different atmosphere."

In a Nov. 16 letter, the owners had indicated the restaurant would hire an engineering firm "so we can get a better understanding of the disturbance we are causing."

At an earlier selectmen's meeting, however — on Aug. 24 — police Chief Peter Silva also indicated that "the owners need to do more to control the actions of their customers," according to meeting minutes.

That followed a July incident in which four young adults — two from Essex, one from Shrewsbury and one from North Salem, N.Y. — were charged with procuring alcoholic beverages by false representation, and The Farm was found to have allowed 12 guests to drink outside in an area not licensed for the consumption of alcohol. Police confiscated fake IDs from the underage drinkers.

The state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission was to seek "administrative action" against the restaurant, but it was unclear as of last night what action had been taken.

Selectmen, meanwhile, voted Sept. 28 to extend the area licensed for drinking alcohol at The Farm to include the "fenced area in the backyard."

Silva said at the August meeting he had invited the owners to have a discussion with him about how they resolve issues at the bar.

Yesterday, Silva wouldn't indicate whether the owners met with him. He would not comment further, except to say officers have responded to the noise complaints and he had informed selectmen of the complaints.

Selectman Mark Lynch yesterday declined to comment on the issue, saying it might impede on "future hearings or legal proceedings." Selectman Ray Randall also declined comment, while Selectmen Chairman Jeff Jones did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Selectmen are slated to address the issues again at their next meeting, set for Monday, Nov. 30.

Jonathan Phelps can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3447, or via e-mail at gt_reporter@gloucestertimes.com