Watertown Board Suspends Sons of Italy License

Licensing Board · Meeting of July 23, 2026

WATERTOWN — The Watertown Licensing Board suspended the Sons of Italy's Pleasant Street liquor license for one day after finding bartender Alessandro Rosati kept serving vodka sodas to Raymond Murphy, who fell and hit his head during an August 2025 event. Lodge manager Larry Pellegrini, legal name Loreto, told the board "I have no excuses" and said he personally renewed the bartender's lapsed TIPS certification after the incident. The board voted 2-1, with member John Bartley dissenting, to also find a disorder violation.

Separately, the board found Ixtapa Mexican Grill, 18 Auburn Street, guilty of improper management after a bartender's TIPS certification lapsed before patron Calvin Kelcheff was later found intoxicated nearby; the panel voted 2-1 that the restaurant did not improperly serve him directly. Ixtapa's one-day suspension will be held in abeyance for 12 months, through July 23, 2027.

In the full story:

• Minutes, Incident Follow-up and Routine License Items
• Dyer Quick Pick Inc., 40 Mount Auburn Street
• Frank Pepe's Pizzeria Napoletana, 24 Eldridge Ave
• Victory Auto Service, 250 Orchard Street
• Halva Mediterranean Grill, 55 Main Street
• Best Burger Watertown LLC, doing business as Bell's Burgers, 46 Arsenal Street
• Buffs B&W Inc., doing business as Buffs Burgers and Wings, 46 Arsenal Street
• Show-Cause Hearing: Sons of Italy Lodge, 520 Pleasant Street
• Show-Cause Hearing: Ixtapa Mexican Grill, 18 Auburn Street
• Other Pending License Matters
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,459 words

Source: the Licensing Board meeting of July 23, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.