State authorities have suspend the liquor license for Schramrocks Irish Pub a week after a melee that involved hundreds of patrons and left at least three people suffering stab wounds.

The emergency suspension was ordered at a special meeting of the State Liquor Authority's full board on Friday. Effective immediately, no alcohol may be sold or consumed on the premises.

During the hearing, board members questioned whether the venue ever intended to function as a restaurant, as its license application indicated.

"It appears that the licensee is continuing to allow promoters to run the business and is not actually present to supervise," Commissioner Lily Fan said during the hearing.

Chairman Vincent Bradley expressed his doubts that the facility would be allowed to reopen.

"The way this place is operating is not just a threat to public safety and welfare, they are a menace," said Commissioner Greely Ford.

In announcing their ruling, the SLA board described "a large unruly crowd" and "dozens of physical altercations" outside the Henrietta bar last weekend.

The report also noted interviews with the pub’s manager and the event promoter, who were unaware of the number of patrons inside or the maximum occupancy of the bar.

As for the three stabbing victims, the SLA report says that one reported he was stabbed inside the bar and another just outside the front door. An officer later discovered a knife in the parking lot and a trail of blood in the breezeway of the establishment.

On Friday, the board charged Schramrocks with six violations resulting from the incident, including operating a disorderly premise, failure to supervise, failure to conform to their application for using a promoter, and for becoming a focal point for police attention.

Three additional charges for operating a disorderly premise were leveled against Schramrocks based on reports provided to the Authority by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office detailing unruly crowds and fights breaking out on June 4, 2017, Aug. 19, 2018, and on Dec. 2, 2018.

"This licensee has created an incredibly dangerous environment that threatens the safety of their customers, the police, first responders, and ultimately the surrounding community," said counsel Christopher R. Riano. "The SLA has an obligation to help ensure the safety of this community, and licensees who simply turn the keys over to a promoter and turn a blind eye to what transpires inside their establishment will lose the privilege of holding a liquor license."

During its hearing, the board said it had been notified by the Town of Henrietta that Schramrocks had violated its special use permit by have a third-party-promoted event.

The pub had also been fined $10,000 on Feb. 6 for availing a liquor license, because the person running the bar wasn't the person on the license said Bill Crowley, SLA's director of public affairs. Edward and Debra Schram are listed as the owners of the establishment, but the authority charged that their son, Andrew Schram, was actually running it.

Susan Michel, Edward Schram's attorney, said that the Liquor Authority's fine was unwarranted and said Schram claims his son has never been involved in running the bar.

Andrew Schram previously was the licensee for Nathaniel's Pub; its liquor license was canceled because of selling alcohol to minors, Crowley said. The bar at 251 Exchange Blvd. has closed. Michel said Andrew Schram decided he wanted out of the bar business and sold the bar.

On Friday, the Authority said Andrew Schram's license at Nathaniel's was canceled in July 2014 after he'd amassed $22,500 in fines for multiple charges of selling to minors and offering unlimited drink specials.

Chaotic scene

Firefighters say they were dispatched to Schramrocks around 1 am Sunday after a 911 caller complained about overcrowding at the bar. When they arrived, their fire engine was engulfed by hundreds of patrons spilling out of the venue..

Deputies from Monroe County Sheriff's Office and officers with the Brighton Police Department arrived to quell the disturbance. They observed security staff forcefully remove two patrons and discharge pepper spray causing numerous patrons to flee the establishment coughing, crying and vomiting.

As patrons poured out of the pub, dozens of physical altercations ensued directly outside the bar and in the adjacent parking lot. Three individuals transported themselves to the hospital with stab wounds.

Susan Michel, attorney for owner Edward Schram, said the authorities account of what happened was overblown. She said that authorities were called for overcrowding, and although the bar was under capacity, the authorities requested the event be shut down. The DJ immediately stopped the music and brought the lights up to disperse the event, she said.

But law enforcement officials say that the brawl was not the first time Schramrocks Irish Pub has been the site of trouble.

MCSO Capt. Paul DeLella said Monday that deputies were called to the location on 12 occasions in 2018 for fights, intoxicated patrons and general unruliness. There were 16 such calls in 2017.

Those numbers are "above the norm" for similar establishments, DeLella said.

Efforts to work with owners on addressing the underlying problems have been unsuccessful, he said. The melee Sunday morning followed an event, run by a third-party promoter, that included a live DJ as entertainment.

Schramrocks is one of several restaurants, pubs and retail shops that anchor Park Point at RIT. The mixed-use complex opened in 2008 adjacent to the Rochester Institute of Technology campus, at the corner of Jefferson Road and John Street, and has been owned and operated by Texas-based American Campus Communities since 2013.

No individuals were charged in connection with the disturbance and there have been no arrests related to the stabbings.

SLAHMAN@Gannett.com

TRACYS@Gannett.com