The anticipated auctioning of the former 797 Sports Bar liquor license stalled this fall, as the state Liquor Control Board formally blocked the license’s renewal, StateCollege.com has learned.
A Philadelphia auction group, Comly Auctioneers and Appraisers, was to have auctioned off the license between Oct 26 and Oct. 28.
But on Oct. 26, the Liquor Control Board refused to renew the license, according to a letter sent to parent group KNC LLC.
The board had earlier filed objections to the license’s renewal, citing in part a history of disturbances at the former 797 Sports Bar and Lounge, in downtown State College. The establishment, which closed about a year ago at West College Avenue and South Burrowes Street, had logged ‘a stabbing, fights, loud music and disorderly operations,’ a state report reads.
Per a request from KNC, the license was put under ‘safekeeping’ status early in 2011. As of Thursday, the license remained under ‘inactive’ status in a state database.
Efforts by StateCollege.com to reach Ketan K. Patel, listed as the active managing officer of the 797 organization, have not been successful.
But LCB spokeswoman Stacey Witalec said Thursday that KNC’s legal counsel has now entered into a conditional agreement with the LCB. Under that agreement, she said, the license must remain in safekeeping until it’s transferred to a new location for use ‘by a bona fide third party.’
The third party cannot have any connection to the former 797 group or to the premises at West College and Burrowes, Witalec wrote in an e-mail message.
Also, she wrote, no former 797 shareholders, officers or employees will be allowed to have an interest in any other LCB-issued license for at least two years.
The LCB has yet to receive any notification of a proposed ownership change or location transfer for the liquor license, Witalec said.
Earlier coverage
