The state has put on hold Providence's decision to revoke the liquor license of The Village by Zaz at 332 Atwells Ave., after a state hearing officer found that the restaurant "made a strong showing" it is likely to prevail on the merits of its appeal. The Department of Business Regulation, which decides appeals of city liquor decisions, says the city's Board of Licenses gave notice of a probation review set for Oct. 1 but no notice of grounds for revoking the license.
The board voted 4-1 to revoke, according to its Oct. 1 minutes. The restaurant filed an appeal and an emergency request for a stay on Oct. 8. A stay pauses the revocation while the appeal is decided. The department's director adopted the hearing officer's recommendation on Oct. 19 in an interim order.
What the order says
The board approved the license on July 24, 2025, and it was issued on Oct. 10, 2025. The board's minutes call it a six-month probationary license, and reviews of it were repeatedly continued. On April 9, 2026, the board extended the probation to the Dec. 1, 2026 renewal and ordered the licensee back on Oct. 1. The order notes the license was also renewed in December 2025 for a full 12-month term that expires Dec. 1, 2026.
The board issued its notice to appear on Sept. 29. The Oct. 1 agenda listed four items for the restaurant. Two were fines the board accepted that night: $2,000 for a Sept. 12 incident and $1,500 for an Aug. 27 incident, each for entertainment without a license and loud music. A request to expand entertainment was withdrawn. The fourth item was the probation review.
The hearing officer wrote that the review notice cited no new violations or other grounds for discipline. The record also shows, the order says, no pre-hearing procedure, no sworn testimony or cross-examination, and no weighing of aggravating and mitigating factors, all of which the board's own rules call for before revocation. The order notes that after a motion to end the probation was made and seconded, and before the vote, the restaurant's lawyer and two of its principals were allowed to address the board. Members of the public who spoke before the vote raised noise, loud music and closing time, the order says, and were not sworn in.
The minutes say the board learned that Providence police were investigating two more alleged violations and discussed continuing the matter before voting to revoke. In its filing, the board argued the license was probationary and that, at the Oct. 1 hearing, it found the license unfit to become a full license based on the licensee's conduct and the board's own record, according to the order. The hearing officer wrote that calling a license probationary did not remove the board's duty to give notice and a hearing.
What happens next
The order calls for a full hearing at the department on an expedited basis. The department's appeals page showed no hearing date as of Nov. 10, and we did not find a court appeal in the sources we reviewed. The department decides the license question itself rather than reviewing the city's vote, the order says. It also reminds the restaurant to keep its 1 a.m. closing time and not to offer entertainment without an entertainment license.
On Nov. 5, the board voted 5-0 to meet in closed session about the appeal, according to its minutes. The audio and minutes of that session are sealed. The order, DBR 26LQ005, says it may be appealed to Superior Court within 30 days of mailing. Its certificate of service is stamped Oct. 20, which would put that deadline around Nov. 19 by our count. The Board of Licenses has cancelled its Nov. 12 meeting and moved all its agenda items to Nov. 19 at 4:30 p.m., according to the city's meeting page.
