The Baltimore liquor board revoked the liquor license of a Canton club Thursday night after the owner of the business violated terms of an agreement reached with community leaders, according to the board's chairman.
Phantom, a dance club that opened in December in the 2300 block of Boston St., will no longer be allowed to serve alcohol, and the license will be transferred to a creditor pending a new buyer.
The license was awarded to owner Shane Anderson last year with several conditions, according to the liquor board. Phantom was not allowed to have live entertainment, performing disc jockeys or promotions for parties. But the club advertised 13 parties this year, using an outside agency to create fliers and promote the events, according to testimony during the 90-minute hearing Thursday. Neither Anderson nor a lawyer represented Phantom at the hearing, but the club's manager testified that he was unaware of the agreement, liquor board Chairman Stephan Fogleman said. Eighteen Canton residents recently signed a petition for the revocation of the license.
"When a community reaches an agreement with the licensee, then that has to be enforced. It's all the community has. And this was a patent breach of his license," Fogleman said.
The decision marks the second straight week that liquor board commissioners have taken action against a license. Aztec de Oro, a Greektown restaurant in the 4900 block of Eastern Ave., had its license suspended for six months after its customers were caught urinating in public outside the bar.
Although the Phantom violations are relatively minor, Fogleman defended the board's unanimous decision.
"Was it the most egregious case of a bar that's come before us? It was not," Fogleman said. "But it was a breach of the community."
