State seizes, closes Schenectady’s Bier Abbey

Seizure signs in the windows

What happens when a bar runs up a tab it wouldn’t allow for a customer? It gets seized and shuttered by the state.

That, in a nutshell, appears to be what happened to The Bier Abbey in Schenectady, which on Tuesday was taken over by the state Department of Taxation & Finance for nonpayment of back taxes totaling nearly $700,000.

The owner of the four-year-old Belgian-style pub, located at 613 Union Street, is a Connecticut resident named George S. Collentine, according to tax records. Local media have so far been unable to contact him to comment on the situation.

James Gazzale, a tax department spokesman, said Tuesday, “We did seize the business today. “Seizure is always a last resort.” Gazzale said the department tries to do before seizing a business. It issued a $692,068 tax warrant against the pub back in May. Gazzale said the bill, which is for taxes owed dating back to 2015, now is up to $698,597.

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