Restaurant “Reflections” closed; state police investigate alcohol sales

A commercial building in downtown Erie that has been the scene of alleged assaults and shootings in recent years has once again attracted police attention.

On Wednesday morning, members of the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement executed a search warrant at 1015 State Street, currently occupied by a restaurant called Reflections, to investigate the alleged illegal sale of alcohol at the location.

The ensuing search resulted in the building being declared uninhabitable and off-limits by Erie law enforcement officials, the second time in just over a year that the city has designated 1015 State St. as such.

According to state police, several people also face criminal charges in connection with the alleged sale of alcohol without a license.

On Friday, no one from Reflections could be reached for comment at the phone numbers and email addresses listed on the company’s Facebook page.

State police investigated complaints about possible unlicensed alcohol sales, which ultimately led to the search of 1015 State Street, Sergeant Christopher Balcik, district manager of the LCE office in Erie, said Thursday afternoon.

Balcik said no one was in the bar at the time of the search. Evidence was collected during the search, he said.

The evidence included bottles of tequila, vodka, rum and other alcoholic beverages, a roll of beverage tokens and a surveillance system, according to an inventory of seized items that state police provided with the search warrant.

City of Erie building inspector officials who participated in Wednesday’s search declared the property uninhabitable on Wednesday. Two orange signs on the building’s front door mark the property as an illegal building and uninhabitable, prohibiting anyone from using or occupying the building.

There were also signs on the front of the building reading “No Entry” on Friday morning.

Building code officials conducted a safety inspection of the site, examined the condition of the building and documented building code violations, said Andy Zimmerman, the city’s building code director. Officials declared 1015 State St. uninhabitable due to the building code violations found, and building codes associated with the site are being reviewed by the city attorney’s office, Zimmerman said.

Erie police assisted state police, who requested that two patrol officers come to the location Wednesday morning to assist in entering and clearing the business during the search, said Deputy Police Chief William Marucci.

Details listed in the search warrant

According to information from a state police search warrant for 1015 State Street, a city planning officer received an email in January 2023 from an attorney representing an individual who wanted to open a business there. The plan was to use the upper floor as a 21-and-over venue with alcohol service and the lower floor as a 18-and-over venue without alcohol service.

The person who wanted to open the business and did not have a liquor license reportedly wanted to buy and distribute alcohol for free but wanted to charge an admission fee, the state police investigator wrote in the probable cause affidavit filed with the search warrant.

According to state police, the attorney received an email reply saying that the proposed practice was an illegal sale of alcohol because an entrance fee was charged and the alcohol was not really free.

Undercover officers went to 1015 State Street in February 2023 and most recently on May 5 and June 1. They paid an entrance fee on each visit, went to the upstairs area of the establishment and were given alcoholic beverages. The agents paid $3 for each drink they received on the May 5 and June 1 visits, investigators wrote in the affidavit.

State police wrote that they confirmed with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board on Tuesday that 1015 State Street and the individuals involved in the business did not have a valid liquor license and were not authorized to sell alcohol in Pennsylvania, the affidavit states.

State police wrote in a news release after the search Wednesday that charges had been filed against several of the people identified in the case. However, no charges had been filed as of Friday morning.

According to Zimmerman and his staff, Reflections has a city license as a restaurant and a food license.

The owner of 1015 State St. is listed in Erie County assessment records as Crow LLC of Brooklyn, Iowa.

Previous issues

The premises at 1015 State Street housed a nightclub called Rockstarz when two men were attacked and beaten, kicked, stabbed and punched by nine others in April 2021, according to Erie police. One of the victims was stabbed seven times and suffered a punctured lung, according to authorities.

All nine suspects were charged and convicted.

More:Last of 9 suspects convicted in 2021 brawl and stabbing at former downtown Erie nightclub

In April 2023, Erie Police investigated two shootings in or around a new business at 1015 State Street, the Super Chicken Lounge.

In the first incident, a 21-year-old woman was shot in the leg after she intervened in an argument between some women near the Super Chicken, according to police. The man accused of shooting the woman faces aggravated assault and other charges while his case is heard in Erie County Common Pleas Court.

Seven days after the shooting, Erie police were dispatched to the Super Chicken to investigate a report of assault and gunfire at the eatery. Police charged a man with pistol-whipping another person and firing shots during an altercation at the eatery. He is awaiting trial on attempted murder and other charges.

More:City closes State Street business for zoning violation, allegedly linked to shooting

Shortly after the second shooting, the city ordered the closure of Super Chicken and declared the space off-limits after officials learned that the building was serving alcohol without the required permit to operate a bottle club.

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