Lee said he called Paul C. McCarthy, the owner of the Grille, about three months ago to inquire about purchasing the establishment, and that negotiations for the sale were ongoing when the ABCC and CLC found it in violation this spring.

Scali said when the ABCC announced the suspensions that a number of potential buyers had called him asking about the availability of the Grille’s license, but Rafferty then denied that a sale was in the works. The two businesses signed a purchase and sale agreement on May 4 but waited nearly two weeks to file their application.

Rafferty said that he understood McCarthy had planned to sell the bar within the next few years, but that the process was expedited as the pressure from city and state authorities grew.

Lee said that he thought McCarthy had been actively interested in selling the establishment for a year, and that Grafton’s motivation in purchasing the Grille “was to open a place as soon as we could.”

Before the transfer application was filed, Lee said that the company’s finances would be in jeopardy as long as Grafton Street, which is expected to reopen in mid-fall, remained closed.

Grafton told the CLC that the new restaurant would be named the Archway Tavern, but Lee said that was a temporary name for the duration of the hearings.

The company has not decided what to name the new restaurant, which Lee said would serve a “casual menu” and put tables on an outdoor patio. Lee said that Grafton planned extensive renovations that he hoped would begin in mid-June.