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BEFORE
THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL APPEALS BOARD OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
ACAPULCO
RESTAURANTS, INC
dba
Acapulco
1109
Glendon Avenue
Los
Angeles CA 90024 - Appellant
Dept
of Alcoholic Beverage control - Respondent
Acapulco
Restaurants, Inc., doing business as Acapulco (appellant), appeals from
a decision of the Department of Alcoholic
Beverage
Control which ordered its on-sale general public eating place
license suspended for 15 days, for appellant’s bartender
having
sold an alcoholic beverage (Budweiser beer)
to a 19-year-old minor decoy, being contrary to the universal
and generic
public
welfare and morals provisions of the California Constitution,
article XX, §22, arising from a violation of Business and
Professions
Code §25658, subdivision (a).
Appearances
on appeal include appellant Acapulco Restaurants, Inc., appearing
through its counsel, Ralph Barat Saltsman, and
the
Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, appearing through its
counsel, Matthew G. Ainley The decision of the Department,
dated
June 19, 1997, is set forth in the appendix
FACTS
AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Appellant's
on-sale general public premises license was issued on March 3, 1986.
Thereafter, the Department instituted an accusation
against
appellant charging that appellant’s bartender, Diana Sussman,
sold a glass of Budweiser beer
to Victoria Brown, a
19-year-old
minor participating in a decoy operation being conducted by the
Los Angeles Police Department. An administrative
hearing
was held on May 8, 1997, at which time oral and documentary
evidence was received. At that hearing, Victoria Brown,
the
decoy, testified that she entered appellant’s restaurant, seated herself
at the bar, and when asked by the bartender whether she
would
like anything, ordered a glass of Budweiser.
The bartender Diana Sussman, without requesting identification or proof
of age,
served
the glass of beer as requested. The decoy
paid for the beer with a pre-marked $5
bill. As the bartender returned with the
beer
and the change from the $5 bill, Los Angeles police officer
Adam Adler, who was already in the restaurant, and saw and
overheard
the
transaction, approached the bar, identified himself as a policeman to the
bartender, and advised her she had just sold an alcoholic
beverage
to a minor.
CONCLUSION
The
Departments decision is affirmed.
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