After being the scene of 62 calls to police in the past seven months, including multiple reported noise disturbances, fights, crowds on the street and at least one unsolved shooting involving patrons outside, Gauchao Brazilian Cuisine saw an hour cut from its 2 a.m. closing time in a finding at a Tuesday hearing of the Somerville Licensing Commission.
Though operating-time licenses are not changed frequently, “our duty of care in this commission is to make sure the Somerville public is protected,” commissioner Joe Lynch said.
The commission held the special show-cause hearing to consider whether licenses should be “modified, suspended, revoked or forfeited” or the hours for alcoholic beverages reduced for the restaurant at 102 Broadway, East Somerville, after violations were raised at a July 15 meeting.
The three-person commission decided at the hearing to hold entertainment licenses in abeyance through October; if the restaurant draws no more complaints, that oversight can be removed. Similarly, an enforced 11 p.m. closing, or three hours off the current time, looms unless the restaurant can make it to November without incident.
Owners must also hire a police detail Friday and Saturdays from 11 p.m. to closing, commissioners said. If police resources are unavailable when Gauchao requests a detail, though, the restaurant can still operate for the night.
Using police, frustrating neighbors
The commission spent much of the meeting questioning and discussing how the restaurant manages its music, noise and crowd control.
A new owner in October 2024 was transferred “a full boat of licenses” to have music, alcohol, outdoor dining and more based in part on the previous owners having a clean record with the commission.
In July 15 licensing meeting documents, though, police officials said they got 18 calls between May 1 and July 6 alone for Gauchao, half of which were due to noise; there were two calls to resolve disputes.
Lieutenant Diogo DeOliveira reported instances when Gauchao’s sidewalks had lines of approximately 100 people because of events published through social media. There was an “alleged shooting on April 27, 2025, involving patrons who left the establishment,” police said, though no charges have been filed.
Because of the large number of calls, “patrol officers have needed to park outside and simply wait for something to happen, which takes resources away from policing other parts of the city,” DeOliveira said.
Of the calls police have received since January, “the majority of those calls are late-night music…and disturbing the public. You can’t do this any more,” Lynch told restaurant owners at the Tuesday meeting. “No one compares to the number of calls that you guys are getting,” he said, referring to businesses between McGrath Highway and the Boston city line.
Taking responsibility and action
Rony Figueroa, the alcohol manager of record, vowed to take action. “We take full responsibility of what is happening. We also understand the seriousness of what is happening,” Figueroa said, explaining that he has been working with Michael Herrera, the owner’s son and a manager, “who is a green and fresh going into the business.”
Herrera said that they are making improvements to tighten the sound, including reducing the number of bass speakers, insulating around the windows and doors and installing soundproofing foam. When asked by commissioner Chris Allen what procedures were in place for crowd control and disturbances, Herrera said he and his four-person security team “can’t control how many people come, but I certainly do try to keep everything under control.” That includes a list of named individuals, with pictures in some cases, who are not permitted to enter.
Contrary to the raucous image painted by police complaints, “we’re kind of struggling at the moment from a business standpoint,” Herrera said. “Business has been kind of slow, so I haven’t really been getting that big of a line.”
Community members including the police, neighbors, the commission and City Council want the restaurant to be successful, Lynch said, telling the Gauchao staff, “let’s do better.”
A stronger
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