A well loved cVillain birdie just dropped a very interesting piece of info into our mailboxes.  Apparently, rumor is that Mo Roman, the owner of Si Tapas & iS Venue, was recently convicted of sexual battery, and this may be a link in why the restaurants have closed so unexpectedly.

We have no confirmation that there was, in fact, a conviction, as the Court Database system does not currently show a record for the associated Circuit Court trial.

Being that it is only a misdemeanor, although a class 1 (which may carry up to a year of incarceration), it is hard to say if this would have impacted a business to the extent that it must close.  Perhaps a conviction could have carried the loss of a liquor license, and this may tie into the recent statements by Jeyon concerning the expiring licenses on premises.

Whatever the case may be, the search runs cold within the court databases, as the charge was supposedly ‘Appealed To Circuit Court 08/28/09′.  Check back as we continue to dig up information in the never ending SiiS debacle.

The bars and our commentary have been buzzing about the recent closure of iS Venue, as broken by Jeyon’s twitter account (and now moved to the Magnus Music site), and the subsequent notification that Si Tapas has shut it’s doors as well.  The music venue saddled with an always empty bar had taken the space over from previous dwellers Starr Hill, & Starr Hill Music, the duo which ran the show for 8 years.

There hasn’t been much public surprise regarding the closings, as Si had never quite captured the crowds attention, and iS had a lot of making up to do in order to keep the ball rolling for both businesses.  The Si food offerings certainly didn’t compare to our home grown tapas love child, Mas Tapas, even though they seem(ed) to have found solid footing in the Richmond area.  Interestingly enough, the businesses primary website for both locations, sitapas.com, is currently off line, which may mean the entire enterprise has called it quits.

Magnus Music, headed by Jeyon Falsini, had shows listed through November 21st on their site, isvenue.com, and we have received notification that at least the Basshound and Space Cadet 7 show has been moved to Rapture Restaurant on Friday, October 9, @ 9:00pm.  There is also rumor of other shows migrating to the freshly re-opened Southern location.

With so much local interest and talent, why is it exactly that so many venues have problems?  Satellite Ballroom, Gravity Lounge/The Southern, Starr Hill/Is Venue, TRAX.  Where is a good band to play nowadays?  [Photo Credits]

If you recall, we reviewed Si Tapas in Richmond a few months ago.  Our conclusion was “if Si Tapas can overcome a difficult location, a very large venue and do a par or better job with service, then Mas should watch out, in fact, everyone in Charlottesville should watch out because small plates with unique tastes are winners in this town.  I’m really looking forward to Si Tapas and I hope you are too.”

So, what’s going on at the Charlottesville Si Tapas?  

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A birdie just told us Si Tapas will open tonight!  Make sure you check it out and let us know how it compares to our Richmond experience.

You know you are a little crazy about food when you trap your friend into driving over an hour from Charlottesville to Richmond to eat dinner at a place called “Si Tapas.”  My companion goes “but Thor, why do we have to go to Richmond, can’t we just eat at Mas!?”  I told this one (who grew up hunting wild animals and knows how to wrestle bears, but barely knows how to use the internet) that it’s something I’ve been meaning to do and we can’t question my intentions.  I digress.

In case you didn’t know, Si Tapas will open in the old Star Hill space in Mid-Town within two weeks.  It’s an exciting competitor for Mas, which is loved and hated by Charlottesville for its food and service, respectively (despite the employee praise that happens on this site, it’s a common issue).  What better way to preview it for Charlottesville than to visit the Richmond location?

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