Fish Head Cantina Called to Liquor Board Hearing

For the second time in the decade it has been in business, Fish Head Cantina is being called before the Baltimore County Liquor Board to address complaints about noise and fights at the bar on the 4800-block of Benson Avenue in Arbutus.

A “show cause” hearing about Fish Head Cantina is scheduled for 12:45 on July 25 to discuss four police reports related to fights and noise complaints at the popular bar and music venue.

“We’ve met with the police department and the liquor board,” said Fish Head manager Scott Fisher. “They are all very fixable items.”

According to liquor board records, a fight broke out between two patrons on March 17 that sent one to a hospital. A noise complaint on March 29 reported that music from Fish Head could be heard outside of the Beltway.

On June 13, a brawl broke out among guests at a wedding party that spilled into the parking lot and resulted in two people being sent to University of Maryland’s Shock Trauma center.

In January, in an adjacent parking lot, critically injuring one of them.

Fish Head Cantina was opened by Nolly P. Fisher--Scott Fisher’s uncle--and Stasia Fisher in 2002. According to Scott Fisher, the location has been operated as a bar for 78 years.

Previously the bar had been known briefly as the Fishbowl, but for many years was operated as Elbert's and was popular among bikers. Transitioning from a biker hangout to a more mainstream establishment that sponsors an open mike night on Tuesdays to give local bands a venue to hone their chops has been proven difficult, Fisher said.

“When we bought it, it was a Hell’s Angels hangout,” he said. “We’ve come a long way.”

Fisher said that the bar has hired additional security and bouncers, and has taken other measures to keep Fish Head Cantina safe and friendly.

He denied that music from the bar could have been heard all the way across the Beltway. "It isn't possible," he said. "The Beltway is elevated above us, and the sound barrier is even taller. There's no way you can hear music from here on the other side."

Scott said that he had an engineer test sound levels throughout the neighborhood to make sure music at the bar isn't too loud.

“We want to cater to the neighborhood,” he said. “We’ve had St. Agnes here, the Arbutus Business and Professional Association. We want to be part of the community. When you do music, you never know who comes through the door. When you cater to the neighborhood, you know who’s coming in because they’re your neighbors.”

As a musical venue for emerging bands, Fish Head Cantina has become popular among UMBC students. Although there are anecdotes of underage drinking at Fish Head Cantina, the bar received a letter from the liquor board in 2008 praising the bar for correctly rejecting an underage police cadet who tried to purchase alcohol.

A liquor board hearing was held in 2009 to address other complaints, including noise and a misguided “No Pants Thursday” marketing ploy that was intended to pique interest among a younger crowd.

Fisher said that nobody actually took their pants off.

“That was a total gag,” he said. “It didn’t go over very well. Live and learn.”

Fisher noted that things inevitably happen in bars, and having a reputation as s former biker hangout doesn’t help.

“That’s two hearings in two years,” he said. “Which is pretty good for the industry.”