After offering several explanations for what its owners characterized as a temporary shutdown, Proof 22 on Main Street is now permanently closed.
Peter Lucido and Paul Tupa, “have decided not to re-open the … establishment, and they hereby relinquish their liquor license to the Town of Plymouth effective immediately,” their attorney, Allan Costa, said in a letter to the Select Board Monday.
Lucido did not return a phone call seeking comment.
After the restaurant and bar posted two explanations for its recent closure – first saying it was giving staff a break, and then that it was undergoing routine maintenance – Costa sent a letter to the Select Board asking for permission to close the restaurant until no later than Labor Day “in order to re-evaluate its management options.”
The restaurant has faced mounting financial and legal difficulties. In June, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue imposed a tax lien on Proof 22 for failure to pay $41,217 in meals, food, and beverage taxes for August, September, and October 2024. Including penalties and interest, the total was $45,552.
Proof 22’s owners had been been ordered to vacate the premises by their landlord, Megryco Inc., for non-payment of more than $54,000 in rent and other expenses, allegedly since March. Rick Vayo, president of Megryco, did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Lucido and Tupa also own Tavern on the Wharf, Plymouth Public House in Cedarville, and the new Shanty restaurant under construction on Town Wharf.
The owners have faced other trouble in recent months.
In May, the family of a 20-year-old Plymouth man killed in a single-vehicle car crash last October filed a $1 million lawsuit against Proof 22 and Tavern on the Wharf, alleging that bartenders served him for hours before the accident without asking him for identification. Benjamin Ruley died less than half an hour after leaving Proof 22, where he had spent four hours socializing, according to investigators.
In July, Tavern on the Wharf filed a third-party complaint against two adult friends of Ruley’s who allegedly bought him drinks there before he headed to Proof 22, arguing that they were therefore at least partly liable.
The state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission alleged Proof 22 violated licensing laws twice in 2024, one for serving alcohol to someone under 21, and another for serving an intoxicated person.
The ABCC also alleged that last year Tavern on the Wharf violated the law by serving an underaged person.
Hearings on the three alleged violations are scheduled for Sep. 9.
In January, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office fined Tavern on the Wharf and Plymouth Public House nearly $500,000 for violating labor laws, including regulations governing child labor, sick time, wage and hour compensation, and payroll records.
Fred Thys can be reached at fred@plymouthindependent.org.