Patriots Stripper & After-Hours Drinking Party Leads To Boston Restaurant's Suspension

The Boston Licensing Board on Thursday ordered Estella, a downtown restaurant, to serve a one-day suspension for allowing an impromptu New England Patriots victory party in January to extend after-hours.

The board, reports local outlet Universal Hub, actually voted unanimously for a three-day suspension of the restaurant’s license. Two of the days are being held in abeyance for one year.

AFC Wildcard game between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Chargers on January 11, 2025, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Earlier this week, the owner of Estella, Helder George Brandao, took full responsibility for the incident, but placed the blame on Patriots players for letting it get out of hand with hookahs and strippers.

"One thing led to another," Brandao said, reports Boston.com. "There’s a sense of entitlement that these players think they can do whatever they want, and that was the case."

What took place on January 27, a couple of days after the Patriots won the AFC Championship game, was a party where the police were called for a noise complaint around 2:30 a.m.

Officers were greeted when they entered the restaurant with the strong "odor of tobacco and marijuana." That adds up, they had just punched their ticket to the Super Bowl after all.

Patriots AFC Celebration Leads To Boston License Suspension

Before the private party at Estella got underway, they were supposed to go Brandao’s Milton home for a get-together. The players wanted to stop at the restaurant to eat first and, as Brandao said, "one thing led to another."

Before you know it, the Patriots players had brought hookahs and strippers into the restaurant. The police reported finding six large hookahs, at least three nude or partially nude women, a floor covered in $1 bills, and several bottles of liquor.

That's a solid checklist for celebrating an AFC title. You would think, given that it was in Boston and involved Patriots players, that the police would have let it slide, but that's not how it played out.

Brandao said the Patriots players left without paying their tabs and that his bartender stopped serving drinks at the required 2 a.m. in the state of Massachusetts, but that they had their own drinks.

That's all the police and the licensing board evidently had to hear. You're not hosting a Patriots stripper and an after-hours drinking party on their watch.