WEST HAVEN, CT — A West Haven bar has been ordered closed until further notice, with its liquor permit suspended, and its owner was arrested following an incident over the weekend, according to officials.
The liquor permit for Two Thirteen Bar and Grill at 213 Saw Mill Road was suspended on Monday, June 29, Connecticut Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan Cafferelli announced Tuesday.
Cafferelli said the suspension is the result of a referral to the DCP Liquor Control Division from the West Haven Police Department on June 29, following a “pattern of repeated overcrowding, service after hours and a history of required police intervention” at the premises, most recently on June 28, according to a news release.
In a letter to DCP dated June 29, West Haven Police Chief Joseph Perno wrote that the department believes that the business of Two Thirteen Bar and Grill exhibits “blatant disregard for established laws and ordinances. This pattern of behavior creates a risk to public health and safety.”
In his letter, Perno noted that approximately 120 people were found inside Two Thirteen Bar and Grill during a compliance check early Sunday morning while its allowed occupancy was 66.
“Exceeding the legal capacity of your establishment is a serious threat to the safety of the patrons,” Cafferelli said. “This repeated behavior, along with attempts to prevent law enforcement and liquor control agents from reducing overcrowding and impeding exits shows that Two Thirteen is managed without regard for the wellbeing of the public. This is a core responsibility of holding a liquor license and we expect all of our permittees to meet these expectations.”
The premise license was immediately suspended, and the establishment is closed until further notice, according to Cafferelli. The permit was first issued by DCP on March 5, 2025, and has been renewed once, with the current permit set to expire on March 4, 2027.
Members of the West Haven Police Department, a West Haven Fire Marshall, and liquor control agents went to Two Thirteen Bar and Grill around 1:25 a.m. on June 28 for a compliance check as part of the city’s response to recent incidents of “violence in and around drinking establishments throughout the city,” according to Perno.
As authorities were approaching the bar, Perno said the front door was locked by someone inside, and they also tried to open the back door when a “security guard slammed the door on the arm of a Liquor Control Agent.”
The agent was given medical attention by fire personnel for the arm injury, and the security guard was arrested for his conduct, according to Perno.
Entry was eventually gained through the back door and a “controlled exit” was then conducted at the front door, according to Perno.
Once inside the bar, Perno noted in the letter that “it was obvious that smoking of marijuana and other tobacco products had taken place due to the odor and amount of residual smoke in the environment.”
Perno said the owner of Two Thirteen Bar and Grill, identified as Latara Miller, became “immediately uncooperative with Officers, Liquor Control Agents and the Fire Marshall and began yelling at personnel on scene.”
“The West Haven Fire Department Fire Marshall notified Miller that her establishment would have to close immediately due to the over occupancy condition causing a hazard,” Perno wrote in the letter. “Miller became irate and walked over to a music system, picked up a microphone and announced to the crowd that the establishment would not be closing in defiance of the Fire Marshall's order. This caused the crowd that was leaving to stop the controlled exit. Miller and her staff have been warned on numerous occasions not to lock the front door of the establishment due to it creating a fire hazard.”
Miller was arrested and charged with interfering with an officer and second-degree reckless endangerment, according to Perno.
“Miller has been highly uncooperative with the West Haven Police Department and referrals have been previously made to the Liquor Control Division in the past regarding her establishment,” Perno wrote. “It is the West Haven Police Department’s understanding that Miller currently has pending complaints with the Liquor Control Division. Other than Miller’s conduct and the infractions of her establishment, the West Haven Police Department has also responded to several instances of violence at Two Thirteen Bar and Grill including a double shooting on October 5th of 2025 in which one of the victims succumbed to their wounds.”
Read Perno’s full letter here, and the summary suspension order here.
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