The Oak Bluffs select board this week vowed to take up liquor establishment complaints in a more timely fashion after dealing with a three-month old dispute Tuesday. 

The board, which oversees alleged violations of the town’s alcohol regulations, had been waiting to hear complaints until after the summer in an attempt to not hinder business during the busy season.

The change in course was prompted by an incident in September at the Loft, a nightclub along Oak Bluffs avenue. 

On Sept. 9, Oak Bluffs police say they saw people still entering the nightclub after 12:30 a.m., the town’s last call. Police said the manager who was working the door started denying patrons after he saw the police cruiser, according to a report provided to the select board. 

Inside, police claim they saw drinks being poured after last call, and when the manager turned off the music, several people left the venue with drinks in hand, both violations of liquor regulations. 

The select board raised the report with Loft owner JB Blau Tuesday as he was seeking a renewal of his liquor license for the Loft and his Chowder Company restaurant. Mr. Blau denied some of the allegations and said it was hard for him to argue with something that was only raised as an issue three months after it happened. 

“Three months later, not being able to access video or see it or talk to the bartenders in the moment, I don’t know,” he said. “There’s a lot of transactions that take place at 12:30 p.m. so if a bartender was serving alcohol, they would be disciplined and they would be dealt with.” 

Mr. Blau said there were no other incidents noted by police throughout the rest of the summer, and he would rather take up issues as they come along with the board, if the board felt there were violations. 

“It’s never been a situation before that moment or after that,” he said. 

Gail Barmakian, the chair of the board, said she had previously wanted to handle liquor issues at the time of the license renewal, but was in favor of taking up future issues in the immediate aftermath. 

“We were trying to avoid a full blown hearing where there may be a penalty in the middle of the summer because we don’t want to hurt business,” she said. “Understand that I think that’s what the board is going to choose to do from now on: once there is a report, it will be [dealt with] in a timely fashion, the person will be notified and there’s going to be a hearing.”  

After the discussion, the board voted unanimously in favor of approving Mr. Blau’s liquor license.