Add a tax lien to Proof 22’s growing list of troubles.
The state Department of Revenue imposed the lien on the shuttered Main Street restaurant on June 27 for failure to pay $41,217 in meals, food, and beverage taxes for August, September, and October 2024. Including penalties and interest, the total is $45,552.
Co-owner Peter Lucido did not respond to a request for comment. The Department of Revenue declined to comment.
Proof 22’s owners have 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. As of Monday afternoon, the restaurant remained closed.
Lucido and Paul Tupa also own Tavern on the Wharf, Plymouth Public House in Cedarville, and the new Shanty restaurant, which is under construction on Town Wharf.
The financial problems at Proof 22 come at a time of uncertainty for some downtown and waterfront restaurants.
Carmen’s Café Nicole was seized by the Department of Revenue in February for failure to pay taxes. Earlier this year, Su Casa closed without notice.
After Proof 22 posted two different explanations for its recent closure – first saying it was giving staff a break, and then that it was undergoing routine maintenance – the owners’ attorney, Allan 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.” When establishments that hold a liquor license close temporarily, they must notify the town.
The owners have had their share of 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 state also slapped Tavern on the Wharf and Plymouth Public House with fines of nearly half a million dollars for violating labor laws, including regulations on child labor, sick time, wage and hour compensation, and payroll records.
Fred Thys can be reached at fred@plymouthindependent.org.