Studio 9 may leave township permanently BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer WOODBRIDGE - After weeks of discussion, township officials announced last week that the owner of the Studio 9 restaurant and cocktail lounge on King Georges Road has verbally agreed to permanently close the establishment's doors. The agreement allows George Forakis' corporation, Ariston Enterprises Inc., to retain its liquor license as a "pocket license," which means the license would no longer be active, if he agreed to close Studio 9 permanently. "We are waiting for a signed consent order agreement from Jack Vassallo, attorney for the owner of Studio 9," said Municipal Clerk John Mitch. "Once the consent order is signed by both parties, it will be forwarded to the state Alcoholic Control director [Jerry Fisher] for final review and approval." Hearings and discussions on the fate of Studio 9's liquor license stemmed from two incidents of rioting on Aug. 24 and Aug. 26. The Alcoholic Beverage Control [ABC] Board attorneys for the township learned over the summer that Forakis had filed for bankruptcy. Mitch said if the state Alcoholic Control director signs off on the consent order agreement, the Bankruptcy Courtappointed trustees would be able to sell the liquor license as a clean asset. Forakis told the Township Council, who acts as the township ABC board, at the liquor license renewal hearing on Aug. 28, that his intention is to sell his place, which he acquired in December 2004. "In the meantime, I have to pay my debt and taxes," he said. "This is not a joy ride for me. I'm getting too old for this." Township Council members said they did believe that Forakis was sincere in trying to rectify the situations; however, they said public safety was the primary issue and they had given Forakis too many chances to change. Mitch added that all the charges against Forakis' corporation would be held in abeyance until the liquor license is sold. "Then we will consider to dismiss the charges," he said. "If there is no agreement with the consent order, we will move forward with the charges." Township officials said they have filed several charges, which stemmed from six incidents - Oct. 28, 2006, and this year on Jan. 20, Jan. 27, March 17, May 29 and June 16 - against Studio 9. Mitch said that on five of the dates, charges of disturbances with immoral conduct and nuisances were filed, and on the last date, charges of serving underage and intoxicated patrons were filed. Additional charges were filed due to the Aug. 24 and Aug. 26 incidents. Disturbances erupted outside Studio 9 at 1:25 a.m. on Aug. 24 and the early morning hours of Aug. 26. The township police department needed the help of seven neighboring police departments - Carteret, Edison, Metuchen, Old Bridge, Perth Amboy, Sayreville and South Amboy - to quell the riots. Mitch said Studio 9 has remained closed since the Aug. 26 incident. Since Sept. 21, 2005, the township has filed notices of violations against Studio 9 charging that the continued use of the building as a nonpermitted, nonapproved nightclub is a violation of the Planning Board's site plan approval. The Building and Construction Department has issued stop work notices and levied fines in excess of $354,000 for failure to comply with township regulations and ordinances. For the past 14 months, Studio 9 has been operating with a state-issued ad-interim permit. The Township Council did not renew Studio 9's liquor license on June 30, 2006, due to the lack of a state tax clearance. As of Aug. 7, Studio 9 had paid all the state taxes. The council decided to renew Studio 9's 2006-07 liquor license, but denied their 2007-08 license at the hearing on Aug. 28.