So Here’s A Funny Story…

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Some of you out there might’ve noticed the big, white SUSPENDED LICENSE sign hanging in the window of the new Rubb BBQ in Manayunk on Monday night. I know for a fact that DJ Seersucker did, because he posted the snap over there on Instagram, with the clever observation that “They Rubb-ed one out tonight”–‘They’ presumably being the PLCB.

And while yes, a sign like that generally spells doom for just about any restaurant that sports one, this one comes with kind of a funny story…

See, I put in a call to Shawn Kelly at the PLCB to see what was up because it seemed to me that Rubb simply hadn’t had its license long enough to violate its terms. And Kelly came back to explain to me that they hadn’t–that, really, they were paying the price for someone else’s violations.

Here’s how that’s possible. Back in 2010, the former owner of the liquor license “was cited by the Pennsylvania State Police, Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, for paying for alcohol with insufficient funds and paying for alcohol with a check not in the licensee’s name.” The then owner was fined, and tagged with a one-day suspension of the license, but in the time it took for the citation to be decided, the original licensee ceased operating. With no bar, there was no way the suspension could be served.

Then, in December of 2014, Rubb’s owner acquired the license–and it came with the one-day suspension still attached. The former owner made a deal that the suspension would be served by the new owner of the license after it was transferred, and Monday night was when that happened.

So, long story short, the crew at Rubb did nothing wrong. And their bar is currently open and (legally) serving all sorts of bourbon and beer to the Manayunk barbecue fans.

Rubb BBQ [Official]

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