Tattooed Mom works to bring live music events back after licensing violation

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Tattooed Mom is still figuring out how to bring live musical performances back to the South Street bar after Philadelphia’s Department of Licenses and Inspections cited the longtime venue for operating without the license required to host them.

The bar announced in July that it could no longer host live music entertainment, including bands, DJs and drag shows, after L&I determined earlier this year that it lacked a Special Assembly Occupancy License.

“Tattooed Mom can continue to operate as a bar and restaurant,” L&I communications manager Kandyce Stukes wrote in an email. “They are not permitted to host live entertainment, which includes DJs, bands, or any other form of performance.”

As a result, Tattooed Mom has been forced to cancel or relocate events and left owner Robert Perry trying to determine what zoning, permitting and licensing steps the nearly 30-year-old bar must take before performances can return.

“I’m still trying to get some clarity about which of the steps I need to take first,” Perry said. “I’m still having conversations with those kinds of people in the city government and private sector to help me navigate.”

L&I said Tattooed Mom has not yet begun the application process for the required license.

A ‘gut punch’ for performers

Located at 530 South St., Tattooed Mom had long hosted live entertainment and community events in its two-story bar before L&I’s ruling this year. Perry said some performers and event producers have worked with the venue for nearly a decade.

After learning that the bar could no longer host performances, Perry worked with some of them to find other venues.

“It was really a big gut punch to have to do that,” Perry said. “This is part of their livelihood. This is part of how they make their way through the world.”

He added that he had not understood the licensing and permitting requirements that applied to those events.

“We weren’t expecting some licensing and permitting centered around occupancy and being able to do certain kinds of events,” Perry said. “I think it’s largely part of my ignorance, maybe not understanding.”

L&I did not explain why the licensing issue had not been identified earlier.

The violation followed an L&I inspection earlier this year. L&I did not say what prompted the inspection. Stukes said in an email that “inspections often occur in response to public complaints,” but the department did not confirm that a complaint prompted its inspection of Tattooed Mom.

Finding ways to keep gathering

Tattooed Mom has not stopped operating as a bar and restaurant and continues to hold events that do not constitute live entertainment.

While Perry said he feels a “profound sense of loss” over the performances that have disappeared, the bar has adjusted its programming, continuing to host pop-up shops, art shows, activist meetups and fundraisers while live entertainment remains off limits.

“We work really hard to make sure that people know that they’re welcome to create and produce events here,” Perry said. “There’s just stricter guidelines about what they can and cannot do at the moment. We actively talk to our community and encourage them to hit us up if they have an idea, a cool idea for an event that doesn’t fall outside of those restrictions that we currently have.”

Perry said Tattooed Mom has been working with neighborhood supporters, city officials and others to understand the zoning, permitting and licensing requirements it must meet. He said those conversations have been “extremely helpful and extremely supportive.”

Perry said his goal is eventually to welcome performers back “legally, safely and properly.”

As Tattooed Mom approaches its 30th anniversary in April, Perry said the restrictions have underscored for him how much the South Street bar means to its patrons and performers, some of whom have told him how strongly connected they feel to the space.

“I’ve learned how much I value and love our creative community, and how grateful I am to them for being so kind, supportive, understanding, patient and creative about the ways they’ve pivoted through this,” Perry said.

For now, Perry said he is prepared to wait until he better understands the city’s requirements.

“I’m a patient person, and I’m in it to do it right,” he said. “And once I have more clarity around that, I’ll be able to pursue those things.”

Editor’s Note: This story was revised to reflect that Tattooed Mom is prohibited from hosting events that include live or recorded music, and not a blanket ban on events.