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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has proposed that the owners of Ali Baba Lounge sell their liquor license.</p><p>The license for Nabil Abualburak Inc. &#8212; doing business as Omnia Bar &amp; Grill and Ali Baba Lounge &#8212; was up for a renewal by the PLCB and on the agenda for its regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday in Harrisburg.</p><p>&#8220;The board is seeking an offer in compromise,&#8221; PLCB spokesman Shawn Kelly said.</p><p>Neighbors have complained about the downtown bar in light of more than two dozen reports of fights, drunk and disorderly patrons and a fatal shooting that occurred outside the South Main Street nightspot within the past two years.</p><p>Kelly explained that under the terms of the conditional licensing agreement, &#8220;the PLCB wants the current licensee to place this license in safekeeping, where it will remain until it is transferred or sold to an independent third party.&#8221;</p><p>Ali Abualburak, manager of the club, referred questions to his attorney, William Byrne, who said he had not yet received a formal notice from the PLCB. &#8220;Once we receive it, we&#8217;ll respond accordingly,&#8221; said Byrne of the Hoegen &amp; Associates law firm in Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>Typically, the PLCB requires the license to be put into safekeeping within 60 days after the approval of the agreement, Kelly said. At that point, the license holder no longer has operating authority of it, he added.</p><p>&#8220;The license will remain in safekeeping until it is transferred to a bona fide third party. The current licensee must maintain the license until it is transferred &#8211; that is, the license must continue to be renewed and validated annually. The PLCB might not require the license to be transferred to a new location,&#8221; Kelly said.</p><p>If Ali Baba does not agree to the terms proposed by the PLCB, the case will be put before the board for a vote on whether to renew it, Kelly said.</p><p>The club has been granted temporary authority to serve alcoholic beverages pending the renewal of its license that expired on Aug. 31, 2018. The lounge had come under scrutiny from the PLCB for 26 reports of disturbances and a fatal shooting of a Brooklyn, N.Y., man in a vehicle outside the club after he was involved in a fight inside it last July. No one has been charged in the homicide.</p><p>Last November, an administrative law judge conducted a hearing and heard testimony from neighbors; Wilkes-Barre police officers, including those who worked off-duty as security at the club; and Ali Abualburak. The judge provided a recommendation to the PLCB for a public vote on the renewal.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The Ali Baba Lounge on South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre is seen in a file photo. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL111518AliBaba1-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>The Ali Baba Lounge on South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre is seen in a file photo. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

PLCB wants Ali Baba to sell liquor license