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Roggie's in Cleveland Circle could rise again
By adamg on Wed, 04/01/2015 - 5:08pm
The Boston Licensing Board decides tomorrow whether to let the owner of Roggie's, 356 Chestnut Hill Ave., designate somebody else as the bar's manager, which could be a step towards convincing officials to let the bar re-open after 11 months.
The city ordered Roggie's shut after police said owner John Rogaris tried to impede their investigation into how a patron wound up unconscious and near death in an alley outside the bar last Memorial Day weekend.
A Suffolk County grand jury indicted Rogaris on charges of witness tampering and interfering with a police investigation last June. Prosecutors have not alleged that Rogaris had anything to do with the injuries suffered by an Irish student on May 23, but charge he ordered workers to carry him outside and tampered with the bar's video surveillance system and oftered to pay a worker to take the blame for whatever did happen.
Rogaris maintains his innocence.
Rogaris's lawyer, Karen Simao, told the licensing board this morning that Rogaris, who has owned and run Roggie's for 20 years, needs to "shift focus to dealing with some aftermath of that scenario."
Prospective Roggie's manager Randy Berryman Machado has 15 years of experience in bar management, she told the board.
Rogaris is scheduled for trial on June 1, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.
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Comments
Out with the old
Honestly it would be better if they just got rid of the place and opened something new. The pizza was always average and expensive while the workers were rude. I welcome the opportunity for something better!
I still can't believe
That a Boston bar owner was in his bar after 5 PM.
Ugh
I've been hoping for months that they would sell this dump so something cool could go into that space instead. We don't need a dive bar with carpet on the floor and a scumbag owner to rise again.
really?
roggies is the closest thing to character that cleveland circle has. sadly.
you want another chipotle clone? or a another starbucks clone?
Nah man, this isn't a binary
Nah man, this isn't a binary situation. It's not a choice between Roggie's and Starbucks with no other options. I said something cool, not another Boloco.
you say that
but you have no way of ensuring that
cleveland circle doesn't have a lot of interesting places to go for a reason
it has a lot of nasty-minded neighbors who make it their business to keep things bland
if roggies goes, then it will probably be replaced by a safe, predictable, profitable franchise
or a bank
Who are the nasty minded
Who are the nasty minded neighbors you're referring to (serious question, I'm genuinely curious)? I've lived in Cleveland Circle for the past 5 years and I haven't had a say on any new businesses that have opened in the neighborhood. The only thing I can think of is all the bickering about the proposed new building where the movie theater is (which seems like it'll never get built at this point).
I'm not sure why you're presenting Roggie's as this pillar of the community. It is a hole in the wall and perpetually empty. I've walked by on Friday and Saturday nights and seen literally zero customers inside. The couple times I've gone in there, it was absolutely filthy. Couple that with the fact that the owner had his employees drag an unconscious man outside and leave him for dead to avoid a lawsuit and I see no reason why this place should come back from the grave.
Look down the street at Washington Square and Coolidge Corner. Both of those neighborhoods have so much to offer. Why can't Cleveland Circle have nice things too?
roggies is not that great,
roggies is not that great, but it's better than another bank, or another chipotle
the cleveland circle cinema project has been bickered about for over 6 years
think about it, that's crazy
if you want to find out who those nasty minded neighbors are, that's a good place to start
i encourage you to get active, and don't let them put you down
cleveland circle needs more people like you who want to actually see things improve
if you don't speak up, then the nasty minded neighbors will be the only voices
and that's why you won't have nice things
You people are so clueless.
You people are so clueless. No "nasty-minded" neighbors stopped the Cinema project - the developer had no financial ability to build it, and it took him a long time to find a buyer for the project. There is a new developer now who will build it very soon. Stop spreading false rumors.
You're barking up the wrong
You're barking up the wrong tree. Everyone, even what you think are "nasty-minded" neighbors, would like some great establishment where Roggie's is. The problem is that business people capable of launching a great establishment don't want to invest in that area - it has too many students and people who live from paycheck to paycheck. The perception is that there are not enough residents with disposable incomes that could support a great establishment.
Craziness
Cityside, Eagle's, Sa Pa, Mary Ann's and Pino's all disagree with your limited assessment of the situation.
i'll give you eagle's and
i'll give you eagle's and pino's, but those are it
cityside could be the die that they stamp douchey bro-bars from, all over the city
sa pa has shitty tasting food at high prices, try a real vietnamese restaurant some time
mary ann's, hey, its not april fools day anymore, are you kidding
roggies could use a replacement, but you arent going to get anything good unless you fight for it
Mary Ann's has character
The original complaint was that Roggies was the only place that had character. You may not like the character at the places I mentioned but they all have it. Citywide has a roof deck without needing to go to Rattlesnake or the seaport. Sa Pa is expensive because it's trendier than your average Viet cart. And May Ann's only has character (people don't go there for the cocktails).
Hardware store is now closed too.
So there is another location for something.
The parking can be annoying around there though. If you drive by and there are no spots in Beacon St, you might be out of luck.
Rogies
Why do I go by this place, and see lots of people drinking beer, and having a good time? The owner I hope is wiser from the experience. No one occused him of injuring the young man.
He's of Greek Heritage, a hard worker, and employes people!
I've lived in Cleveland Circle a long time.
I've never been but know some
I've never been but know some who were very sad it was shutdown. It was one of the few places in Boston that put on shows featuring underground/independent music. Not Indie Rock, nor "safe" but unknown bands, but real independent punk and the like. It may not be your scene but there are a lot of fans out there with no place to go. A real dive closing, as opposed to the contrived dives that are so popular now, only furthers Boston's lack of diversity in the music and bar scenes. I'm a fan of "something cool" but there should be room for more than that. Let's try to preserve the alternatives we already have.
I guess the loss of another
I guess the loss of another place for shows is the one downside. But those are kind of the breaks. it's pretty rare that a venue for independent/underground bands lasts more than a year or two. At least the Elks, the Democracy Center and the Middle East upstairs are still doing shows.
Rarely...
The place rarely had live music. It was nothing more than another BC hangout. I've lived next door since it opened. I wish it were like the Middle East or O'Brien's but it's not even in the same universe. Every weekend I heard fights, vomiting, crying in the alleyway outside my bedroom window. People didn't go there to listen to music.
During the summer Roggies wasn't too bad
They had beer and pizza, and stayed open late enough to not worry if it would still be open if you wanted to swing by after 11pm
Cleveland Circle's Roggies could rise again
This was a criminal act. You dragged someone outside and let them die. How are you allowed to keep you license?
Nobody died
Not to minimize the allegations, but the man in question was taken to a hospital in time and is alive.
Case closed
In my own personal court, I have decided that this guy did something that I can never forgive and thus I would never consider giving him a dime of my money. Sell the place to someone else who can put something in there that benefits the area.