MONTREAL -- Beach Club, a concert venue and outdoor bar in Pointe-Calumet, is fighting to keep its liquor license.
The Deux-Montagnes police department declared the club a public nuisance in 2019 and filed a complaint with Quebec's liquor license board, who are hearing testimony this week into numerous complaints about the venue.
Among them: the small Deux-Montagnes police force said it has to assign 20 officers each weekend to the club to prevent fights, drunk drivers and drug consumption. In three years, they responded to nearly 400 emergency calls.
Some customers at the club also get so intoxicated that the local St-Eustache Hospital spends most of its resources taking care of them on weekends, the liquor board heard.
Tragedy struck in 2017 when police tried to arrest a patron who was driving erratically. He fled, lead police on a chase through the town and killed a 66-year-old man, Jean Brillant.
Another patron drowned in 2015 after consuming a mixture of drugs and alcohol.
Authorities have also complained about fights and the presence of Hells Angels bikers who get VIP treatment when they visit the club.
Dominique and Olivier Primeau own the club. They made their fortune in the grocery store business. There were no incidents at the club in 2019, they said, adding that they are fully cooperating with local police. They declined CTV News' interview requests.
The liquor board's commissioners will hear more debate on Monday. After that, they'll decide Beach Club's fate.
