Swansea Board of Health moves to suspend food permit at Venus De Milo

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]It is a real-life food fight unfolding in Swansea right in the middle of prom season. Thanks for joining us at 5:30.

[00:00:07]I'm Emily Boles.

[00:00:08]>> And hello, it's Ken on Dan Jeannotte.

[00:00:09]The Board of Health wants to suspend the food permit of a popular event space, but a judge says not so fast. Here's Mike Cerullo.

[00:00:17]It's arguably one of the most iconic event spaces in Bristol County, but now Venus de Milo is under fire one day before Cranston East's senior prom. The Board of Health suspended its food permit for 60 days starting on March 23rd, claiming the owner, Monte Faris, failed to submit certain cleaning and pest control logs as required. The venue appealed and the Board of Health agreed to let Venus de Milo keep operating as usual if the venue provided weekly reports. In April, the Swansea Board of Health then moved to limit permit owners to one appeal. Then on May 18th, Faris says he received this Board of Health notice saying Venus de Milo's food permit would be suspended again. This time for 30 days, claiming the owner did not submit the weekly reports. But the venue is firing back saying in its own filing they sent the reports on time.

[00:01:10]And if the suspension remains in place, it would have to cancel eight upcoming large banquets, proms, and other events, which would displace 2,400 patrons and cause approximately $139,000 in lost revenue. A judge stepped in Tuesday to stop the suspension, at least for now. Now means prom and the other events are on. I walked into Venus de Milo, but was told the owner is out of town. I sent him an email and tried giving him a call.

[00:01:39]No dice. There's a hearing scheduled for next Thursday where a judge could decide what happens in the future for the venue. For now, Venus de Milo is allowed to continue operating as normal. In Swansea, Mike Cerullo, NBC 10 News.