Rhumbline Owners Give up Live Bands, DJs Request for Entertainment License OK

The Newport City Council on Wednesday approved an annual entertainment license for Rhumbline in the Point neighborhood after the new operator of the restaurant dropped requests for amplified live bands and DJs.

Many residents of the Point objected to the initial application submitted with the amplification, DJ and band categories checked off.

On Wednesday night, Turner Scott, the lawyer representing Rhumbline, told the City Council that the opposition was severe.

“Given the outpouring from the neighborhood, you’d think we were starting an ISIS training center on Bridge Street,” Scott said.

Tom Hockaday, president of the Point Association, said neighbors simply wanted to ensure that their concerns about noise and the effect on the area were heard.

“We’re not trying to make any statement there was an ISIS training camp,” Hockaday said, noting that they were told by the applicant that the license request was simply a carryover from what the previous owner had.

It turns out that the new Rhumbline’s application was not identical, Hockaday said, and “when it was not, it created some confusion.”

With the request to amend the application to strike amplification, live music and DJs, Hockaday said that there should be no issue and the concerns of abutters and people living nearby would be addressed.

“If there was any confusion on the part of the new owner — he knew what he was buying when he bought Rhumbline,” Hockaday said. “We were very supportive of a restaurant. . .we love it, we welcome it but we have a very important neighborhood that has historic significance and we [are] only following what the precedent was.”

The restaurant was purchased earlier this year by Patrick Kilroy and Larry Silverstein, two well known Newport businessmen who co-own Midtown Oyster and recently bought the former Perry Mill Tavern. Rhumbline closed on Oct. 9 after the ownership change.

Scott noted that the restaurant will be playing background music and that music will come through speakers. Though the application no longer seeks permission for “amplification,” he said virtually all businesses in Newport play music over speakers — a point concurred by Newport’s Acting City Manager Joseph J. Nicholson.

“If they happen to have a radio on, we’re not going to send in the SWAT team,” Nicholson said.

Scott also agreed to an amendment lowering the maximum capacity listed on the application from 135 to 123 based on a review by the city’s Fire Marshal.

Scott expressed visible frustration at the hearing, which was a continuation from the council’s meeting last month that ended with no decision based on the outpouring of opposition from nearby residents. He quipped that he was surprised the city doesn’t ask whether the restaurant would serve Indian or Mexican food.

“You’d think my client was putting in. . .nuclear waste,” he said.

But Hockaday stressed that the restaurant’s new owners need not view the residents of the neighborhood as adversaries. He thanked the applicant for the amendments and said “we look forward to moving forward with being good positive neighbors. . .having a good relationship and a successful operation there.”