By Thomas Breen, New Haven Independent
NEW HAVEN, CT — A Crown Street club that closed last weekend has agreed to return its liquor permit to the state — and to not apply for a new one for at least three years — after getting caught selling alcohol to minors on multiple occasions.
That agreement is detailed in a three-page “Offer in Compromise” involving the state Department of Consumer Projection (DCP) and Rumaj Lounge.
The agreement means that Rumaj’s Liquor Control Commission “remonstrance” hearing, previously scheduled for Thursday, has now been cancelled.
Rumaj was located in the Loricco Tower building at 216 Crown St. It was scheduled to be the subject of a “remonstrance” hearing that could have seen it lose its liquor license.
Instead, Rumaj’s permittee, Bobby Maraj, and Maraj’s company B & M Nitelife LLC have chosen to forfeit the club’s liquor license — for now. (Rumaj also announced via Instagram earlier this month that it would be closing on May 17 after four years of operating on Crown Street.
The “Offer in Compromise” states that Rumaj’s liquor permit has been cancelled and returned effective Monday, May 18.
Maraj and B & M Nitelife LLC have agreed that they will not apply for a liquor permit in the state of Connecticut for at least three years.
The compromise also states that no member of B&M Nitelife LLC “will have any management or employee status at any premises with a liquor permit for at least three years from the date that the Department accepts this Offer.”
The agreement goes on to reference several recent “incidents” when Rumaj was caught in violation of state law, including on Dec. 12, 2025 (“sale to minor,” “minor loitering,” “unlawful conduct of the permit premises”) and Feb. 28, 2026 (“sale to minor,” “minor loitering,” “permittee responsible for the actions of employees/agent”).
Click here to read about the state fining Rumaj $9,000 and suspending its liquor permit for a few days in 2024 after finding minors in the club, and click here to read about a $4,500 state fine handed down in 2025 after Rumaj was caught serving alcohol to minors.
“This is a voluntary settlement of the case against you,” the agreement states. It states that Maraj and B & M Nitelife LLC “waive any further procedural steps, the right to seek judicial review or otherwise challenge or contest the validity of this Offer and its acceptance by the Department of Consumer Protection, and the right to an adjudicative hearing.”
Also, the document concludes, “The Respondent agrees to the destruction of any alcoholic liquor seized as evidence.”
The agreement was signed by Maraj on March 12. It was “accepted and approved” by DCP on Tuesday.
“I think that this is a sigh of relief for our downtown,” said East Rock/Downtown Alder Christine Kim, who was on tap to serve as the “agent” for Thursday’s “remonstrance” hearing.
She described a remonstrance as “a last-ditch effort” to get Rumaj to comply with the law. “The amount of police complaints at this address from the hours of 10 to 3 a.m. are off the charts, especially compared to other establishments that have bars and similar nightlife entertainment.”
“We do want a vibrant night life,” Kim added. “But we need to do it safely. We do hope that whoever comes in next will see the writing on the walls,” and know that they need to follow the law.
Maraj did not respond to a request for comment by the publication time of this article.
The New Haven Independent is a not-for-profit public-interest daily news site founded in 2005.
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