Hookah lounge to serve additional suspension after murder

Nara Lounge, a Federal Hill hookah bar where police said a man was stabbed to death late Wednesday, October 2, 2019. Photo by Steve Klamkin WPRO News

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – The Providence Board of Licenses has approved a three-week suspension of the license for a hookah bar where a man was stabbed to death earlier this month.

Nara Hookah Lounge agreed to a deal with the city where it would close for one week in November and two weeks in January. In addition, the business will close at 1 a.m. for the rest of October and have a 90-day police detail.

The lounge closed for a week following the death of 46-year-old Troy Pine, of Providence.

A lawyer for the lounge says the disciplinary action is “very fair.”

WPRI-TV reports 41-year-old Joel Francisco is a suspect in the stabbing and is the subject of a law enforcement manhunt.