Columbus bars are feeling the effects of heightened scrutiny now that the Alcoholic Beverage Control is investigating Ruben”s Fish House where a man died on Monday after drinking too much alcohol.
ABC”s code says bartenders may not serve patrons if they are “visibly intoxicated.” If followed, the law is supposed to eliminate accidents or illegal activity that might occur as a result of being overserved.
Bryan Roberts, co-owner of the Princess Theatre, said that if a customer has had to much, he turns him or her away without hesitation.
“If someone is visibly intoxicated, we don”t serve them,” he said. “If somebody is falling down, I not only don”t want to serve them, I want them to leave my bar. We”ve been doing that since the beginning.”
Roberts said that his bartenders take the law a step further and will arrange transportation for their customers.
“All the numbers for the local cab companies are written on the wall,” he said. “In the event someone slips past the limit, we try to call them a cab or make sure they have a ride home.”
Freddie Fields, owner of Fuhgettaboutit, said he cuts people off all the time. He remembers a specific instance when two women were already intoxicated when they walked into his bar.
“We had a girl come in here one night, and before she ever had a drink, she passed out,” Fields said. “We had to call the ambulance.”
What the law doesn”t account for, however, is the subjectivity of determining when someone has had too much.
“If somebody has been drinking somewhere else, and they”re a pretty seasoned drinker, you really don”t know until they”ve gone too far with it,” Fields said. “Everybody doesn”t fit the same level, and that”s the problem.”
It can also be hard to deny a customer who is waving money in the air and demanding more liquor.
“They just get excited: ”I”ve been sitting here spending my money with you, and you”re going to cut me off?”” Fields said, playacting as a drunk patron. “You really get abuse for cutting somebody off.”
Much of the time, the person is not only a paying customer but a friend, which can make turning someone away even more difficult. But Fields says many times he cuts drinkers off precisely because they are friends.
“We want our customers to be back tomorrow night like everybody else does,” he said. “When you cut somebody off, you do get some static, but it”s better to get the static than for them to get out there and kill somebody.”
Kathy Waterbury, communications director for the State Tax Commission, acknowledged the law can be difficult to enforce.
“You pretty much have to have an eye witness,” Waterbury said. “What we have looked at in the past are those typical things that everybody would recognize: slurred speech, aggressive behavior, nodding off. But everybody handles alcohol differently.”
That”s why the responsibility to make the call lands squarely on the employees of the bar.
“They need to take some type of measure to stop it, whether it be calling law enforcement or whether it”s calling someone a taxi,” Waterbury said, noting the ABC offers free instruction on the law and how to follow it to all the retailers in the state. The training isn”t mandatory, but when a business applies for a liquor license, it accepts liability.
“When they sign that application, they understand that they are responsible,” Waterbury said. “Your business relies on following the requirements. An ABC permit is not something we just hand out.”
If a business is found to be in violation of the law, the ABC could revoke its permit and hit it with thousands of dollars in fines.
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