Rock Bar & Grill to Close Feb. 1 Under Agreement With City of Plymouth

The Rock Bar & Grill, 844 Penniman Ave. in downtown Plymouth, will close Feb. 1 under an agreement with the city.

The popular downtown establishment, faced with the city recommending revocation of its liquor license amid numerous liquor-related violations, currently is seeking new ownership.

The Plymouth City Commission voted unanimously Monday in favor of the agreement after a public hearing about the bar.

With the city allowing the establishment to keep its liquor license intact, the property—with its accompanying liquor license—will be more marketable to a potential buyer, as Plymouth has capped the amount of liquor licenses both downtown and in the city, and the Rock's liquor license would be the only available license in the city.

Bar owner Kevin Montagano will have 90 days from Monday to find a new, unrelated owner and submit proof of a purchase agreement to the city, or else the city will submit a recommendation for revocation to the state's Liquor License Control Committee. 

Under the agreement, the bar will remain on a short leash—It will immediately be forced to close its doors if any further violations are reported before Feb. 1.

Colleen Pobur, who had been appointed to the state Liquor Control Commission under former Gov. Jennifer Granholm, told the City Commission that its potential recommendation to revoke the Rock's liquor license carries a great deal of weight at the state level. 

"In my experience in my time at the Liquor Control Commission, I don’t recall an instance where a recommendation was rejected," she said. "It's a very powerful recommendation."

Pobur said bar patrons who had spoken in December in favor of the bar keeping its liquor license, citing the bar's tendency to call cabs for intoxicated patrons, missed the point.

"It’s the licensee’s responsibility to make sure patrons don’t get intoxicated," she said. 

Resident Janet Adkins, who lives in a condominium near the bar and was critical of the business' operations at a prior public hearing, said she was "quite pleased" with the agreement between the city and business owner.

Adkins, however, was critical of the city for taking three years to take action on the bar.

"Are we going to allow the next bar three years to fix their behavior?" she asked.

Weigh in: What type of bar and restaurant would you like to see in this bar's place? Let us know!