Even after a series of violent incidents at the bar, the city’s Licensing Board determined in December that Who’s On First did not violate the terms of its liquor license when conductor Jephthe Chery, 29, was killed by gunfire meant for someone else, and therefore the bar would be allowed to remain open.

The closure was announced Tuesday night by Red Sox president Sam Kennedy and senior vice president and special counsel David Friedman at a community meeting and was met by applause from residents who say the bar should have been shuttered long ago.

Popular Fenway bar Who’s On First, where a Thanksgiving Day shooting left a beloved train conductor dead and three others injured, has closed for good, according to Red Sox officials.


But the bar never reopened after the shooting. This week, news of the closure came after Red Sox officials worked out an agreement with the city, the owners of the building, and the operators of Who’s On First.

“The violence that occurred outside our doors this past fall was unacceptable,” said Red Sox spokeswoman Zineb Curran Wednesday. “Safety is paramount in our continued effort to make Fenway Park and our neighborhood a welcoming environment for our fans, employees, and neighbors.”

City Councilor Josh Zakim, whose district includes Fenway, said all fans would benefit from the bar’s closure.

“This is a great example of the way a large institution, neighbors, and city officials can get positive results not just for the Fenway neighborhood, but for thousands of people who come to enjoy the events,” Zakim said.

Curran did not respond to questions about the Red Sox’s relationship with the building owners. It has not yet been determined what will become of the space.

John W. Henry, the principal owner of the Red Sox, also owns the Globe.


Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans, who previously said the bar has been a nuisance since he was the captain in District D4, which includes Fenway, commended Red Sox officials for working with the community to have the bar closed.

“I think the Red Sox heard the community’s concerns and . . . we had some concerns also,” Evans said. “I hate the idea of putting anyone out of business but we had several incidents of violence, of people getting shot, at a place where people should be coming to enjoy.”

Richard Giordano, director of community organizing for the Fenway Community Development Corporation, said the licensing board should have been the entity to take action.

“You had to scratch your head,” he said. “The place was not being run in any kind of responsible way.”

A Licensing Board hearing held to address the Nov. 26 shooting was the ninth time the owner of Who’s On First appeared before the panel to address public safety concerns that included assaults, shootings, and stabbings inside and outside the bar since 2001, city records show. The board moved to suspend the owner’s license three times for incidents of violence, once for up to four days.

The bar generated at least 43 violations since 1991 for serving alcohol to minors and violent incidents, including three last year for shots fired, according to Licensing Board records and police. A dozen of the violations resulted in warnings and 12 resulted in suspensions.

Two months before Chery was killed, two women were shot outside the bar, and in that case the board determined the bar did not violate the terms of its liquor license.


The board’s decision in December not to penalize or revoke the bar’s license left residents, elected officials, and Chery’s family stunned.

The licensing board’s chairwoman, Christine Pulgini, had said the shooting that killed Chery “was unforeseeable.”

A man was captured on surveillance footage — given to police by the Red Sox — leaving the bar, returning moments later with a firearm, and then shooting at the victims, Boston police Sergeant John Wright told the licensing board during a hearing on Dec. 18.

The bar owner and police had agreed to a security plan that included purchasing ID scanners, cameras, and metal and hand wand detectors, as well as hiring a police detail. The staff was to check patrons for weapons every time they entered the bar.

But that never happened because the bar did not reopen.

The bar’s owner, Robert Paratore, and his attorney, Jack Diamond, did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday.

“The neighborhood feels like they won the battle,” said Lauren Dewey Platt, president of the Fenway Community Center’s Board of Directors. “I’m thrilled for Jephthe Chery’s family. Unfortunately, it comes too late for them.”

Chery’s mother, Rose Chery, said news of the bar being shuttered was welcomed, but doesn’t change the outcome of the shooting.

“I already lost my son,” said Rose Chery. “But for now, I’m happy another mother will not feel how I feel now.”


Jan Ransom can be reached at jan.ransom@globe.com. and on Twitter at @Jan_Ransom.