Tiki Bar co-owner denounces state raid as ‘harassment’

Local board says raid was probably result of complaints

Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008

The complaint, which had alleged that the Solomons Island bar broke the law by purchasing pre-mixed drinks, was withdrawn by the Maryland State Comptrollers Office in mid August, but Donovan appeared before the Calvert County Board of License Commissioners, or the liquor board, to ask for guidance on avoiding similar situations.

According to Donovan, the June 13 raid on the bar embarrassed the business and cost it more than $5,000.

He said the raid was motivated by local opposition to the bar.

‘‘This incident is but one of many harassments that have been directed at our business and requiring the expenditure of time and money, both by our business and the various agencies that have had to deal with these complaints,” he said.

Liquor board Chairman Marshall Gibson had his own harsh words for the actions of the comptrollers office. He assured Donovan that the board had no concerns about the Tiki Bar’s mixed-drink procedures and had had nothing to do with the raid.

‘‘I believe wiser minds [than those responsible for the raid] came to the conclusion this was not the issue they wanted to pursue,” Gibson said. ‘‘... These actions resulted in a ‘Whoops, we’re sorry,’ from the Comptrollers Office, ‘We made a mistake,’ and not much else as far as I can tell,” adding that the action was unprecedented during his decades on the board.

‘‘Most of us in this room know what it stems from,” Gibson said of the raid, in an apparent reference to the bar’s local enemies. ‘‘It is what it is.”

A spokesman for the Comptrollers Office confirmed that the raid was sparked by a complaint by a community member but declined to say who it was.

Gibson declined to advise the bar, saying the matter needed further study and the board was not qualified to speak on state regulations.

License suspended

Also at that meeting, the board suspended the liquor license of Mexico restaurant in Lusby for serving a beer to a 19-year-old volunteer with the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office during a sting operation.

Patricia Garcia, sister of the license-holder and a supervisor at the restaurant, explained that the waiter who served the drink was inexperienced and believed the ‘‘decoy,” David Cook, when he said he had left his drivers license at a hotel, especially because Cook was accompanied by a 21-year-old woman with a valid ID.

Garcia said the restaurant would give additional training to waiters and busboys to prevent a recurrence.

But Gibson took a hard line after sheriff’s office Deputy McCourt said he had chosen to test Mexico’s Lusby location because it had a reputation for serving the underaged.

Gibson told Garcia that traditionally the board would impose a fine for a first violation, but that it could choose to revoke the license. He reminded her that that could destroy her livelihood.

‘‘There’s no reason we couldn’t decide to [revoke] your license tonight. ... Then you’ll have a very nice Mexican restaurant selling Pepsis and iced teas. That’s probably not going to be very profitable for you,” Gibson said.

He warned her that one lax employee could destroy her family’s business, or more dramatically, cause an underaged person to drive drunk and kill someone ‘‘because they were served by someone who didn’t care or give a damn. Do you want that on you?”

The board suspended the restaurant’s liquor license for Sept. 29 through Oct. 1 and assessed a $500 fine, to be paid to a local charity.