Published in the August 4, 2016 edition
By DAN TOMASELLO
NORTH READING — On Monday, the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to suspend the liquor licenses of three businesses for three consecutive days after each establishment served or sold alcohol to a minor in May.
Police Chief Michael Murphy said the police department conducted “compliance checks” of local establishments on May 20. The police department subsequently identified three businesses — Ginger Gourmet, Ryer’s Store and Christopher’s Market — as having sold alcohol to a minor.
Murphy gave a detailed report of the compliance checks. He said a 19-year-old undercover operator, who was under the supervision of two police officers, was asked to purchase a bottle of Bud Light at the bar while visiting Ginger Gourmet, 265 Main St. The undercover operator was also asked to purchase a six-pack of Bud Light at Ryer’s Store, 162 Park St., and at Christopher’s Market, 2 Washington St.
Employees at the restaurant and two convenience stores did not ask the undercover operator to show identification, Murphy said. He noted the compliance checks were advertised in advance in local media, including the Transcript.
Ginger Gourmet
Murphy said a server filling in for a bartender at Ginger Gourmet served the minor alcohol and did not ask for identification. Town Administrator Michael Gilleberto said the incident was the Asian restaurant’s first offense.
Ginger Gourmet manager Mark Zeng apologized to the selectmen and Murphy.
“I feel really bad,” said Zeng. “I am very sorry about it.”
Zeng said the restaurant previously had a policy of checking identifications for people who appear to be 30 and under. He said the restaurant is now carding customers ages 35 and under.
Selectmen Chairman Bob Mauceri asked Zeng if his staff has received TIPS (Training for Intervention Procedures) certifications, a program designed to prevent intoxication, underage drinking and drunk driving.
Zeng said “not all” of his staff is TIPS certified. He said the restaurant’s bartenders are TIPS certified, but the servers are not. The restaurant has used an in-house training program in the past.
The Selectmen were not thrilled with Zeng’s revelation.
“It’s incumbent on you as the manager to require that (training),” said Selectman Kathryn Manupelli. “You have to have that training as a prerequisite.”
Selectman Michael Prisco told Zeng his staff needs to be TIPS certified because fake IDs are very accessible and can be purchased online.
“You have to know what you are looking for,” said Prisco. “You can buy fake IDs online now and they look pretty good. But TIPS certified people are trained to know what a fake ID looks like. This is very unnerving to us and we want to get our point across that TIPS certification is very important.”
Prisco also said a “liquor license in North Reading is not an entitlement.”
“It’s an absolute privilege granted by this board,” added Prisco. “We want to grant it to you because we want you to have a flourishing business in North Reading. But we also have to make sure that you have the right safety procedures in place because fake IDs are everywhere. We cannot allow the risk of young adults going into your establishment, and drinking and driving on our roads. We want to keep our community safe.”
Mauceri concurred with Prisco.
“We do not want you back here the next go around when the police chief and ABCC does another check,” said Mauceri. “What we are looking for is all of the employees serving liquor, not only the bartenders, but also any waitress that carries alcohol to the table, to be TIPS trained. We need that kind of commitment.”
Selectman Stephen O’Leary said Ginger Gourmet’s internal training program does not meet the board’s “terms and conditions” required for establishments that have liquor licenses. He said Zeng needs to get his staff TIPS trained as soon as possible.
“My suggestion is to get the training and the certifications because we will be looking to make sure you are in compliance with our policies come renewal time in December,” said O’Leary.
Zeng said he will make sure the restaurant’s employees receive the proper training.
Prisco proposed suspending Ginger Gourmet’s liquor license Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 2, 3 and 4. After a discussion, the Selectmen voted unanimously to suspend the restaurant’s license on those dates.
Ryer’s
Gilleberto said the incident at Ryer’s was the store’s first violation.
Ryer’s owner, Mark Hall, apologized to the selectmen and Murphy.
“We are embarrassed by this,” said Hall. “We have had our license for almost 14 years and respect it very much. We care about the youth in this town. We made a mistake and our employee made a mistake and he has been written up for it. We won’t let it happen again.”
In response to a question from Mauceri, Hall said some of his employees are TIPS certified while others are not. However, he said “only certain people” are allowed to sell alcohol. He said “90 percent” of the store’s employees who are allowed to sell alcohol are TIPS certified.
Mauceri followed up by asking Hall if he would support having all of the employees who sell alcohol to be TIPS certified. Hall said he would comply with the request. He noted the store has already begun carding anyone who appears to be 40-years-old and younger.
“We have the same goal as you and the police do,” said Hall. “We know this happened and we are going to take steps to correct it.”
The Selectmen were pleased with the steps Hall has taken to rectify the situation. “You are taking this seriously and are taking steps to correct it,” said Manupelli. “We appreciate you being proactive.”
Prisco recommended suspending Ryer’s liquor license Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Aug.12-14. The Selectmen agreed and the motion passed unanimously.
Christopher’s Market
Gilleberto said the incident at Christopher’s Market was the convenience store’s third offense. The previous two incidents took place in 2002 and 2007, respectively. The store’s liquor license was suspended for three days in 2002 and five days in 2007.
Attorney Namita Agarwal, who represented her father and store owner Rakesh Agarwal, said she believed the incident should be considered the store’s second offense because her father was a “silent owner who had no stake” in the store when the first violation took place. She said her father was a majority owner when the second violation occurred.
Agarwal said her father was the person who sold the alcohol, a fact she attributed in part to him suffering from prostate cancer and not thinking clearly as a result.
Mauceri said Agarwal’s argument was irrelevant to the situation at hand.
“The issue is alcohol was sold to a minor,” said Mauceri. “We are not looking for excuses here.”
Agarwal agreed with Mauceri. “There are no excuses,” she said. “I am just trying to explain his state of mind. This is something we take very seriously.”
Agarwal said her father has “taken steps to rectify the situation.” She said the store is now carding customers who appear to be 40-years-old and under. The store has also purchased and posted additional signage throughout the store.
In response to a question from Prisco, Aggarwal said he has owned Christopher’s Market in some capacity since the early 1990s.
“This is a multiple occurrence,” said Prisco. “The last two (establishments) were first-time occurrences. This is a multiple occurrence.”
“I take full responsibility,” Aggarwal said.
O’Leary said he supported issuing a three-day suspension to Christopher’s Market because the 2007 violation was nine years ago. Prisco agreed and suggested suspending the license Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 2, 3 and 4.
“I think we can live with three days,” said Prisco. “But if you come before this board again, there is going to be a problem.”
In response to a question from Prisco about the proposed punishment, Murphy declined making any recommendations. However, he said the town has “had more violations in the last two years than we have had in the last 10 years.”
“There seems to be a lot of turnover in a lot of these businesses and it seems like they are catching up and not preventing it,” said Murphy. “This is all about prevention. It’s not about punishment or catching somebody. We want to be catching somebody doing something right.”
The Selectmen voted unanimously to suspend the liquor license for Christopher’s from Sept. 2-4.
Policy to be examined
O’Leary and Selectman Jeff Yull repeatedly said throughout the meeting the board should revisit its liquor suspension policy. Mauceri said the policy will be discussed at a future meeting.
