Owner of Popular Deli Goes Off on City Officials in Saratoga Springs

 

City Commissioner of Public Safety James Montagnino said on Monday afternoon that the city’s code enforcement officer signed a notice informing its owner and management that Gaffney’s “must cease all operations immediately … until you have obtained the proper license.” The Times Union 

Daniel Chessare, the outspoken owner of a popular deli in Saratoga Springs reacted to the city's decision to temporarily shut down a nearby bar and restaurant that has been in the news quite a bit lately.  What do you think?

According to the Times Union, the decision to "temporarily" shut down Gaffney's on Caroline Street comes after a claim made by City Commissioner of Public Safety James Montagnino that "two checks from Gaffney’s — one for fire inspection and another for its eating, drinking and cabaret license — bounced at City Hall."

According to the report, the two checks totaled $435.

But Chessare, owner of the very popular Saratoga's Broadway Deli, took to social media on Monday refuting the claims made by Montagnino and reported in the newspaper.

Chessare feels like the club is being targeted after a recent string of violence, and he defended them.

According to the Times Union, an employee at Gaffney’s sent them videos of recent fights outside a number of bars in the Caroline Street neighborhood, which is where Gaffney's is located.

The videos sent to the TU were done so to show that Gaffney’s is "not the only bar with fights and that police are hyper-focused on Gaffney's."

And on the deli's Instagram page Monday night, a series of IG "stories" speculated that Gaffney's was being targeted unfairly.

The stories which disappear after you view them were captured in a screengrab and while they're no longer viewable on the page, they packed a punch when they were viewable.

Chessare doesn't believe that Gaffney's was shut down because they bounced a bad check, he feels they're being targeted for the music they play and the crowd they attract, and that it's setting a bad precedent.

"There's been at least 1 bar in town that's had more stabbings and fights than Gaffney's...even a death," Chessare wrote.

Adding, "A local restaurant worker got slashed down the side of his face and neck at that bar, but Gaffney's is the problem because they draw people from Troy, Albany, and Schenectady."

Chessare makes a valid point and he's a business owner that hasn't shied away from the spotlight.

During Saratoga's track season last summer, he went off on the late-night drinking crowd, accusing them of "leaving cigarette butts behind, tossing garbage in their potted plants, as well as puking and peeing on his sidewalk and building."

In his most recent rant, he added that closing down Gaffney's won't alleviate the problem of violence in the Spa City.

"You close Gaffney's," he wrote, "they'll go somewhere else and behave the same way.  There should be more repercussions for the people who commit the crimes."