Faced with the looming revocation of its liquor license, Tommy's Night Club and Grill closed its doors for good Friday.

"People want to feel like they're going to be safe when they go out," said Paul Arcudi, an employee at competing bar Earl's on the Ave. "They don't want to feel like they're going to get shot."

A state Liquor Board officer stopped by Tommy's Thursday to deliver the bad news: The nightclub had received more than four citations in the past two years, including counts of employees drinking, over-serving patrons, serving minors and disorderly conduct with a firearm.

"What we're seeing is that there's a widespread disregard for the law," City Attorney Tom Carr said.

Carr, along with Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske and Washington State Liquor Control Board Chief Pat Parmer, joined forces in August to implement the undercover sting operation "Sobering Thought." Adult officers accompanied minors into bars to see whether laws were actually being enforced.

The operation, which resulted in violations for Tommy's Nightclub and Finn MacCool's on the Ave, was the beginning of the crackdown on nightclubs and bars in the area to shape up.

"I'm urging the police to continue with these citations," Carr said. "In the past couple of years, we've seen a rise in nightclub violence."

Carr noted that a rise in violence equals a rise in the number of police officers who have to be dispatched to subdue trouble and patrol the area. "We only have so many officers. That's taxpayers' money, and we can't afford that," he said.

Arcudi, whose workplace, Earl's, was one of the few to refuse ID from minors during the sting operation, said that although he understands the safety issues behind the deci-sion, he regretted that competitor Tommy's needed to shut down.

"We get several customers who go from bar to bar, so I think as a bar, we think competition is good," he said. "We don't like to see anybody fail or go down the tube."

Jeff Andrew, the manager of Tommy's, told The Seattle Times that he believed the Liquor Board and Seattle Police had a problem with hip-hop music.

Carr thought differently.

"I heard they were going to declare bankruptcy anyway, so this is just an excuse," he said.

Andrew could not be reached for comment.

[Reach reporter Arla Shephard at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]