CHARLESTON -- When the economy is stacked against you, you don't need more hurdles.

Two years ago, the Catalano family purchased a piece of property on Androvette Street in Charleston with high hopes. They had not idea the would have to pay for past errors, even though the mistakes weren't their own.

Over that time, the Catalanos have spent close to $600,000 to transform the once rundown site of the Black Garter strip club into a family-oriented steakhouse called Hoof N Finz.

The idea was was to create a versatile restaurant that could cater to everyone. They wanted to set up cooking classes for kids, tying together pizza and vegetables to make eating healthy a fun experience.

As the renovations came to a close this past July, they began filing the necessary paperwork to get their fledgling restaurant off the ground and set their grand opening date for mid-January.

Unbeknownst to the Huguenot residents, the State Liquor Authority (SLA) had already placed a lockdown on that site.

"We had no inkling that there were any problems with the property," said Frank Catalano, the property owner. "The title report was clean. It didn't show any problems with the SLA."

Title searches do not show when there are proscriptions on properties.

The former owner, Wagon Wheel Enterprises, found itself in trouble with the SLA's Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control in 2001, according to agency records.

LEGAL TROUBLES

The legal troubles mounted over the next few years until finally the SLA board voted to revoke the premise's liquor license and institute a two-year proscription on the site - meaning no one, not even a new owner, could receive a liquor license there until April 19, 2009, at the earliest.

"We understand that it's the law, but we just feel that it's unfair," Mr. Catalano continued.

Filing to have a proscription lifted is not an easy task.

"The owner of the building needs to make a request to the SLA Board and articulate their reasons as to why a proscription should be lifted," said Bill Crowley, spokesman for the agency. "The request should be sent to the SLA's Counsel Office first. Then it would be scheduled for a Full Board meeting for a decision."

By the time the Catalanos discovered this, however, they were too far in to delay the opening.

The early goings have not been easy.

"This is making our business so much harder," said Mr. Catalano's daughter-in-law Lina, the restaurant's proprietor. "We have two or three cancellations a night now."

Losing those small groups hurts, but according to executive chef Mike Lombardi, it's struggles with big parties and the big holidays that have really done some damage.

"A very close friend of mine had a 50th birthday party scheduled for March for about 60 or 70 people, and they just canceled because we may not have a liquor license," he said.

CANCELED RESERVATIONS

"For Valentine's Day, we had 23 reservations in advance, and 16 have canceled already. How can you set the ambiance of Valentine's Day without offering a glass of wine or an after-dinner cordial?"

Local politicians have tried to reach out to the SLA to help expedite the process, but it remains to be seen how much assistance they can offer.

"This is a business owner in the community that, because of conduct engaged in by a complete stranger who happened to have run a completely different business there, is suffering," said state Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-South Shore), who has already reached out to the governor's office. "This offends the sense of fairness."

State Assemblyman Lou Tobacco (R-South Shore) echoed those sentiments, saying the situation "defied logic."

"It's frustrating how inflexible the bureaucracy can be," Tobacco said. "Now more than ever, government should be there as a resource, not a foe. Mr. Catalano's lawyer is sending me over all the documents this week, and after I go through them, I'm going to call the SLA and make them justify this situation to me."

For the time being, however, Hoof N Finz will remain a dry establishment.

"This is really a beautiful place," said patron Loretta Cassino, a nearby resident of The Tides. "I hope they don't go out of business because of all this. It would be a real shame."