Politics & Government

Surprises At Liquor License Hearings Wednesday Night

The second round of liquor license violation hearings took place at Wednesday night's Board of Selectmen meeting. 

Like the first round of hearings on August 14, the businesses were all required to provide mandatory TIPS (Training for Intervention ProcedureS) training for every employee and will be subject to two follow-up compliance checks within the next six months for each business.

But some of the businesses in the second group--Casey O'Conor's, the Mansfield VFW post 3264, Geno's Restaurant & Lounge, and Chipotle Mexican Grill--had additional issues that concerned the Board of Selectmen. 

Casey O'Conor's

Town counsel Paul DeRensis asked the Selectmen to postpone Casey O'Conor's' hearing until further notice, since it has closed for unpaid back taxes, which the board approved unanimously

They did, however, question what would happen with the liquor license, which has been seized by the state Department of Revenue. 

Selectman Olivier Kozlowski ask if "until  further notice," meant "until December 31," when the license expires. It's up to the Board of Selectmen whether or not to renew a license. 

"If [the issue] is not resolved someone will file to have the license renewed, maybe the Department of Revenue," said DeRensis. 

Mansfield VFW Post No. 3264

In addition to the plea bargain, the VFW was penalized with seven-consecutive-day liquor license suspension, in light of information received an hour before the hearing.

The VFW had a violation on December 18, 2010, within the three-year time frame that can be considered during hearings.

"I'm extremely disappointed. We take alcohol very seriously in our town. We talk about it ad nauseam sometimes. To check someone’s ID is simple. If you’re not gonna run a tight establishment, you shouldn’t have a license," said Selectman Doug Annino.

"It pains me to say it because you’re an establishment in town, but this demands action on our part because you didn’t listen the first time," he added. 

Selectman George Dentino said the second violation makes it "a whole new ballgame."

"If someone’s coming in that you’ve never seen before, that should be a red light," said Board of Selectmen Chair Jess Aptowitz, pointing out that 90 percent of VFW customers are members and the rest are guests of members or bartenders. 

Geno's Restaurant Lounge

This was Geno's first liquor license violation in 32 years, which the Board of Selectmen commended. They also praised the owners for being proactive; they provided TIPS training immediately and invited the other violators to train with them at the same time. 

"While he was trying to solve his own problems he was trying to get other restaurants to as well," said Police Chief Ronald Sellon. 

Annino agreed, saying "I'm glad you reached out to other establishments, we are all in this together. We have to protect our residents."

Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle ran into a problem Wednesday night, when the Selectman realized that the manager left and only the interim manager, who was at the meeting, was TIPS trained, meaning the restaurant was currently open with no one certified to serve alcohol. 

The Selectmen advised the interim manager to call corporate tell them they should have permanent manager soon and that all employees must be TIPS trained. 

"The problem is these places have a lot of turn over," said Town Manager Bill Ross.  "It seems like corporate isn’t taking steps to make sure everyone is TIPS trained," which is part of their liquor license agreement.





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