Local News
“There’s a sense of entitlement that these players think they can do whatever they want, and that was the case.”
A downtown Boston restaurant’s liquor license is in jeopardy after it allegedly hosted Patriots players after their snowy AFC win in January with hookahs, a DJ, strippers, and after-hours drinking.
Helder George Brandao, the owner of Estella’s, answered questions Tuesday at a violations hearing with the Boston Licensing Board. He said he takes full responsibility, but blamed the Patriots players for letting it get out of control.
“One thing led to another,” Brandao said about the incident, which was first reported by Universal Hub. “There’s a sense of entitlement that these players think they can do whatever they want, and that was the case.”
Police responded to the restaurant on Temple Place just before 2:30 a.m. Jan. 27, according to a police report obtained by Boston.com. Estella’s has an all-alcohol liquor license, records show, and bars have to be closed by 2 a.m. in Massachusetts.
Officers, responding to a noise complaint, wrote in the report that music could be heard from outside on the sidewalk. Once inside, police found about 30 people and wrote that “the odor of tobacco and marijuana was very strong.”
Boston police Sgt. Rebecca Leo told the Licensing Board that an unidentified male employee “stated multiple times that there was a private party downstairs and that it was quote unquote ‘all Patriots players.’”
That night, the players were supposed to meet up at Brandao’s Milton home, he said, but wanted to eat at the restaurant first. A manager, who was not present at the hearing, let “some of the big players” through a side door with “the entourage,” Brandao told the board.
Police found at least six large hookahs, at least three nude or partially nude women, $1 bills scattered on the floor, and multiple bottles of liquor, officers said. The employees at Estella’s told police they were not aware of the hookah or any type of smoking and said that someone accidentally dropped all of the cash when the police arrived, officers recorded in their report.
Brandao said the players used large gym bags to bring in money and hookahs and brought their own alcohol, including “1942s,” apparently meaning Don Julio 1942 tequila.
He said his bartender stopped serving drinks at 2 a.m., but “they had their own drink. That’s how bad it was.” The restaurant also didn’t make any sales; the players left without paying their tabs, he told the board.
“That’s the least of our concerns,” Brandao said. “It’s kind of a sticky situation. It’s a lose, lose, and I’ve considered a lawsuit.”
The Patriots did not return a request for comment.
Estella’s has hosted Celtics and Patriots parties before, said Brandao, who opened a second location at Patriot Place in Foxborough last year.
While Brandao said he didn’t see any women in bikinis or hookahs, Licensing Board members cast doubt on his testimony. They instructed him to produce video of the incident potentially showing him “overwhelmed” by the party and the text he allegedly sent to a player saying “you’re killing me … You guys got to go, doing too much.”
“It’s always going to be your question on whether it is worth your license to risk losing,” Commissioner Keena Saxon said.
“It’s not,” Brandao replied. “It’s never worth it. It’s not worth the headache for me.”
The board will vote Thursday on whether the restaurant violated the license, and if so, could be subject to a license suspension, revocation or modification.
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