LEWISTON – A new owner can resurrect the controversial Blue Elephant Lounge in a different place, councilors agreed Tuesday night.

Former club DJ and manager Gary Jackson of Portland plans to reopen the nightclub at 347 Lisbon St., across from LePage Bakeries. The site of the old Oasis nightclub, it is less than half a mile from the old Park Street site.

“Everything I’m trying to do is to make this more upscale and have fewer problems,” Jackson said. He said he plans to increase the number of bouncers working nightly to keep any issues under wraps.

Councilors effectively shut the club down in March when they refused to renew its liquor license at its Park Street location. That came after nearly 10 months of complaints from neighbors at the Oak Park Apartment building. Those neighbors complained of loud noise and rowdy behavior from patrons at the Blue Elephant and at Club Adrenaline, a second Park Street night club.

Councilors in April gave Club Adrenaline a two-month reprieve, extending owner Carmine Cartonio’s license until June as he attempted to bring his patrons in line.

Councilors agreed that moving the Blue Elephant to Lisbon Street solved most of the problems, but they still had questions. Councilor Stavros Mendros pointed out that councilors won’t hesitate to pull the new liquor license if there are problems at the location.

Moratorium changing

Councilors also stopped short of extending a moratorium on new liquor licenses near Park Street Tuesday night, hoping to give a new restaurant and bar on Middle Street a shot.

Owners Heather Morin and Randy Letourneau said they plan to open Guthries, a coffee house and restaurant on Middle Street around the corner from the Oak Park Apartments. They plan to serve alcohol at night and will bring in local jazz and bluegrass musicians.

“We’re trying for a completely different feel, a different clientele from the other places,” Letourneau said. The club is within the moratorium area, however, and cannot get a liquor license.

The moratorium is set to expire on June 5, and councilors said they were willing to make changes before extending it. They created that moratorium in March to keep any new nightclubs from coming in until the city can find a way to balance night life with Oak Park residents.

Councilors are scheduled to vote on a new moratorium at the June 5 meeting.