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The 323 Restaurant in Westport is closed after owner Adam Faillace reportedly failed to pay rent to his landlord and he was evicted. Local residents first noticed the closure over the weekend, and it was officially locked up earlier this week by a state marshal.
The eatery came under fire in August, when a customer complained about a cocktail on the menu, the “Tuskegee Experiment,” which is in reference to “the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male.” The drink was eventually pulled from the menu following an outcry on social media regarding the racial tone of the name.
Many of the popular performers that took the stage only found out about the closure this week, and have been forced to scramble to find replacement gigs. The landlord, Dominic Santella, is reportedly already looking for a new tenant for 323 Main St., which is expected to remain a restaurant.
This isn’t the first time Faillace has had troubles with authorities. In June 2016, he was arrested at the 323 Restaurant for criminal trespassing when he refused to leave the establishment.
In addition, 323 was also one of five bars named in a lawsuit in 2014 after a Faillace family member was over-served prior to a fatal crash. Earlier this year, Faillace was also arrested for failing to appear in court to respond to an outstanding warrant.
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