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"We will do a new face and come back again," Alice Lei said Tuesday shortly before a ceremony where the nightclub's name was removed from the building. She promised that more details would be released at a future date. "Later, we will tell you all about it."
She and co-owner Alex Poon voluntarily surrendered the establishment's liquor permit after outrage over the shooting early Sunday outside the 84 W. Park Place establishment in Columbus Park.
Dayron Marquis Wills, 22, of Stamford, is charged with five counts each of first-degree assault with a firearm, first-degree reckless endangerment, unlawful discharge of a firearm and possession of marijuana in the incident. He is held on $1 million bond.
Police said he pulled out his legally owned handgun and fired 10 shots into a crowd outside Tino's during a dispute with a man over a woman. The five injured people suffered non-critical injuries, police said.
Business owners had complained that noisy and rough crowds had attended privately promoted parties at Tino's since it opened about three months ago.
On Tuesday, in a noontime ceremony, Nuconn Construction workers Jeffery Parker and Jerry Boccanfuso took down the nightclub's name to the delight of the onlookers. Columbus Park business people gathered in front along with Mayor David Martin, Police Chief Jonathan Fontneau and Downtown Special Services District President Sandy Goldstein,
Goldstein welcomed the owners' decision to surrender the liquor permit and discontinue the nightclub. The downtown district "has no tolerance for any kind of negative after hour or during hour bar behavior and our actions today and the incredible cooperation of the owners of Tino's proves it," she said.
Police will increase patrols later in the night to deter any other violence, Martin said. He said Stamford is a safe city.
"Our crime rate is less than half of the next closest city in Connecticut," he said.
Oscar Moreno, Tino's manager, and Alice Lei stood with the mayor and the other officials.
"We are not happy with what has happened in the past," Moreno said after the ceremony. "We were not expecting this to happen but it did happen and as you can see we took action to make this a safe place."
The fight and shooting occurred outside of Tino's, he said, and everything was under control inside the club. He added that they cooperated fully with police, including handing over video.
He agreed with Lei that the business will reopen but said it is still up in the air what it will be.
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