The liquor goes, and so do the customers at JC's Grill

Restaurant and its neighbors hope for a September reopening, By Jennifer Jean Miller Newton — Businesses nearby the shuttered JC’s Grill House say they are feeling its loss. “It was the ‘Cheers’ of Newton and has been missed here on a lot of levels,” said Sam Platt, the director of marketing for Robin Lennon Inner Designs, located across the street. “It has not been good for the town and there has been a lot less foot traffic,” said Robin Lennon. The business kept the longest hours on Spring Street — from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. During the day, when attorneys and other business people lunched at JC’s, they would shop at adjacent businesses. A number of businesses recently opted to keep later hours on Thursday evenings to help revitalize the area. But the state’s Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control pulled JC’s liquor license on July 23, with the intention to investigate the restaurant. Lynn Butler and her partners tried to keep the place going as a BYOB operation but were losing too much business. They closed their doors on Aug. 11. “People like their special Scotch or Manhattan and can’t get it, and would ask instead where they could go to get their drink,” said Butler. Some Spring Street store owners attended court hearings to support the restaurant and find out more. State finds licensing lapses The closure follows nearly two months of litigation between JC’s and its landlord. JC’s partners leased the restaurant from Kathy and Paul Sakellaropoulos of Sakel-Grapsas Inc. with the intention buy the business and liquor license from Sakel-Grapsas, according to JC’s attorney. A price had not been agreed upon, Butler said, so the transaction was never completed. The state charged Sakel-Grapsas for selling alcohol and allowing it to be consumed in an area not described in their licensing agreements for 2008 and 2009. The state also charged Sakel-Grapsas with failing to specify JC’s and its partners as having an interest in the license renewal application for 2007, 2008, and 2009. State Attorney General Anne Milgrim has been in touch with both parties. The state offered a choice, which expires on Sept. 4, either to pay a $30,000 fine or have its liquor license suspended for 30 days, effective upon the license transfer. On Aug. 24, the landlord’s attorney, Bobby Kasolas of Brach Eichler LLC, responded that his client agreed to the suspension of the license. But JC’s attorney said his client wants to reopen the business and have the fine deducted from the sale proceeds. Kasolas said JC’s gave his client $35,000 as a deposit but still owed $115,000 upon the approval of the license transfer and a ten-year $200,000 promissory note. Besides the deposit and monthly lease payments, he said, Sakel-Grapsas has seen no other money. Representatives from JC’s said the figure from Sakell-Grapsas kept changing throughout the process, and that funds are in escrow to complete the transaction. A motion between the two parties is scheduled to be heard on Friday, Sept. 11, to determine what happens next. When will JC’s reopen? And now the question is: when will JC’s Grill House be back in business? JC’s has been in a holding pattern, trying to keep the business afloat through its catering portion of the business, handling private parties and catering for Bear Brook Golf Club, Butler said. JC’s laid off 30 people. Some are helping with the catering end, while others have moved on to other assignments. Butler said their intent is to have JC’s reopen by the end of September. She said she recognizes the challenges of the transition: the rehiring and retraining of staff, the effort to regain momentum. “We’ve been receiving supportive phone calls from customers asking us when we are reopening,” she said. “Our main goal is to get the liquor license back and reopen for business.”