Despite objections from some of its neighbors, a new Japanese restaurant on Thayer Street was granted a liquor license and a 2 a.m. closing time on weekends night by the Providence Board of Licenses at the end of August.
Shark Sushi Bar and Grill, which was supposed to open last December at 275 Thayer St., isn't up and running yet. No signs, boards or lights identify the space between Spike's and Details as a future restaurant awaiting the arrival of a shark tank from Los Angeles. The 16-foot-long tank will house two sharks and a coral reef behind the bar once the restaurant opens in six to eight weeks, said Ray Hugh, the restaurant's co-owner.
The College Hill Neighborhood Association and the University both opposed granting Shark the liquor license. William Touret, president of the CHNA called the decision to grant the restaurant a liquor license "inappropriate," saying the group opposed it as part of the larger issue of the "increasing saturation" of Thayer with liquor vendors.
Touret also said the restaurant, which will seat more than 100 people, will not have sufficient parking and that patrons leaving early in the morning will have to drive through residential streets.
"Do you want people who have been drinking alcohol until 2 a.m. driving through the streets of an academic and residential neighborhood?" he said.
The University also opposed Shark's license on behalf of students and the community, said Darrell Brown, director for state and community relations. Like Touret, Brown said too many establishments on Thayer Street already have liquor licenses. Shanghai, Kartabar, Paragon and Andreas all have licenses to serve alcohol after hours.
But Hugh dismissed the criticism.
"This is America, you know? Come on," he said of community opposition to the license. Shanghai, the restaurant he owns across the street from Shark, also has a liquor license and has never had any problems with neighbors, he said.
Some property owners near Shark also opposed the license, but they weren't numerous enough to force the Providence Board of Licenses to deny the application. According to the board's rules, if owners of at least 50.1 percent of the area within 200 feet of Shark had objected, the license would not have been granted. Those against the license only own 36.9 percent of the properties in that space, according to a Sept. 2 Providence Journal article.
In the past, both the zoning board and the board of licenses have allowed restaurants and bars to open on and around Thayer Street and serve liquor late.
In 2006, Spats Restaurant opened at 182 Angell St. after fierce opposition from the College Hill Neighborhood Association, the University and property owners to its application for a liquor license, The Herald reported last spring.
