Chinatown restaurant to hire English-speaking managers, but that may not keep it out of trouble over role in police probe of mass shooting outside its doors

The owner of New Moon Villa Restaurant on Edinboro Street said today he's hiring English-speaking managers and will seek a police detail for early morning hours in the aftermath of an incident last August in which six people were shot outside its doors - one of whom ran through the restaurant, gushing blood, in an attempt to avoid getting shot again.

Boston Police cited the restaurant for not providing video from a surveillance camera of the aftermath of the incident and because no workers acknowledged seeing the bleeding man run into the restaurant and through the kitchen, let alone offering him aid - something a detective said he learned about only from other witnesses.

At a Boston Licensing Board hearing this morning, restaurant attorney John Lee Diaz apologized and said the issue was not that the restaurant didn't want to cooperate, but that owner John Chen barely speaks English and that none of the workers on duty that night spoke any English at all, leading to possible miscommunications with police.

Diaz said that was why none of the workers showed up at the hearing today to explain what happened and to answer the citation. Board Chairwoman Christine Pulgini, however, was not having it. She continued the hearing to a later date so that Chen and Diaz could round up the workers - and an interpreter.

"This isn't just a minor violation when guns are involved," Pulgini said. "This board takes this very seriously."

A BPD detective, after noting police recovered 30 spent rounds and one live one and two guns at the scene, said Chen seemed to understand him fine when he talked to him.

Earlier, Pulgini expressed surprise that Chen could operate the restaurant, which is open until 4 a.m., if he could barely speak English. "How do you run a big restaurant if you don't speak English at all?" she asked. "That's what puzzles me."

His wife, acting as an interpreter, said Chen "deals with Chinese people most of time" - including both employees and suppliers. His wife and Diaz, however, said they are in the process of hiring managers who do speak English well and who will cover shifts from start to finish.

They added they will seek to have Boston Police details stationed at the restaurant in the early morning because of the occasional bursts of violence. In January, multiple rounds were fired around the corner.