Powell businesses refuse to serve underage buyer

Powell businesses refuse to serve underage buyer
 
POWELL (WNE) — Staff at Powell’s bars and liquor stores aced a police test last week: Employees at 11 establishments all refused to sell alcohol to an underage customer dispatched by police. 
In accordance with state law, authorities periodically conduct “compliance checks” to ensure that liquor license holders are not selling alcohol to people under the age of 21. 
Police choose someone who’s at least 18 but younger than 21 and supervise as the youth tries to purchase an alcoholic beverage. 
Employees who serve the underage customer are typically issued a criminal citation — which can bring hundreds of dollars of financial penalties and probation — while the business receives a negative mark in the annual review of its license. 
In contrast, employees who follow the law and refuse to serve the young person may receive a gift card from police as a reward, and the business gets a positive write-up. During the checks performed on Dec. 28, the would-be buyer was turned away at each stop: the Backstreet Pub, Blair’s Market, K-Bar Saloon, Lamplighter Inn, The Market at Powell (Mr. D’s Food Center), Maverik, The Peaks, Pit Stop Travel Center #11, Pizza Hut, The Red Zone and Sage Brews Wine Spirits. 
“The businesses and employees who successfully passed the compliance check deserve well-earned congratulations for their diligence in preventing alcohol sales to underage purchasers,” Powell police said in a Facebook post. 
The city’s bars, restaurants, fraternal organizations and brewery are coming off what Police Chief Roy Eckerdt called an “outstanding” 2021- 2022, in which all 22 license holders received only positive marks from police. 
That included 10 businesses passing compliance checks last May. 
 
This story was published on Jan. 3, 2023.