A prank bomb scare over the weekend cost a Front Street restaurant $1,500 in lost sales, according to its manager.

At around 9 p.m. Saturday night, a man called Flanagan's restaurant saying there was a bomb on the premises and warning that the place should be evacuated.

General manager Sam Bezant immediately alerted police who ordered the whole building evacuated and blocked off the street.

About 60 customers left the building, including 25 dinner guests, said Mr. Bezant.

After conducting a sweep of the building, bomb disposal experts gave the all clear shortly before midnight.

Mr. Bezant told The Royal Gazette that considering the impact on the night's business and the fact that Police did not appear to have made any progress in tracking down the prankster, he doubted whether he would call the Police if it happened again.

"If I had a phone call and they said they got the guy, I'd feel it was worth the exercise," he said.

Bomb scares are becoming something of a tradition lately. Court proceedings have been disrupted on at least three occasions this year alone because of telephoned bomb threats. According to Mr. Bezant, Saturday's scare was the first in about 20 years to hit a Front Street bar.