Jaleo’s Liquor License Suspended – ABRA Tells Us Why

That punishment seems way over the top.

Why should of age people, who want a drink with their meal, be punished?

I’ve always been carded at Jaleo, been over the age for almost 9 years, and, unfortunately, look closer to 40 than 21. I agree, the punishment seems harsh.

On an unrelated note, the recent construction at the corner of 7th and F street in front of Rosa Mexicano is an accident waiting to happen. The way the fences are constructed is forcing people onto the street and onto the path of oncoming cars on 7th street. I witnessed a gentlemen almost get hit from behind when he tried to walk around me to pass me yesterday afternoon during rush hour. This morning, the same thing happened to a man who was trying to cut in front of me- almost got hit by a Circulator bus from behind. Who’s responsible for this construction? The District?

Well, at least the suspension occurred on weekdays (Mon – Thurs).

Assuming this is a case of a waitstaff or bar tender not doing their job, rather than some punk kid going out of their way to deceive the restaurant into serving them a drink, I have no problem with it. When you get a liquor license, you agree to follow a certain set of rules. If you don’t like them, don’t serve liquor. It’s as simple as that. A company needs to be responsible for the negligent acts of its employees while on the clock.

loganmo – If you get a speeding ticket do you think your license should be suspended for three days? We’re talking about how harsh of penalty a suspension is, not whether some punishment is warranted.

I agree – very harsh.

I was unaware the penalties were so stringent. I’ve been of age for more than a decade but I admit I had a fake ID back in the day. I certainly had no idea back then that a place could get nailed so harshly for serving me a drink while I was underage.

I’m not sure such knowledge would curb underage drinking but it might help people realize (besides it being against the law) why restaurants and bars take the law so seriously.

My husband and I (in mid-late 40s) got carded the other night at Austin Grill and the server told us they’re being extra careful because of what happened at Jaleo and figured they would be next… I understand the law to not serve to minors, but I wish the city would spend the time and resources on addressing the homeless problem which I feel is much more a priority.

On another note, any ideas on what’s going on at 822 E Street (ground level at 8th and E, south side of street)? Used to be a restaurant and up for lease, but workers have been gutting the interior over past few days.

Anon 3 – I take from your post that you are a slow walker.

I don’t have any personal knowledge of the Jaleo situation but I have spent a fair amount of time following ABRA’s disciplinary issues with Platinum and the enforcement thereof, including observing a few of the hearings in person.

If that is any guide, I would suspect that its possible there were multiple incidents or more than simply a 20 year old who looked like they were 30 getting a single glass of beer or wine.

From the ABRA website, the actual incident in question at Jaleo occurred last year and it finally worked its way through the system now so I tend to think maybe there were other incidents or they had gotten in trouble before and previously been given a warning.

Of course, that is all just speculation on my part.

Off topic, but can anyone recommend an appliance repair service that will service a dishwasher on Saturday?

Anon #9,
In both cases, I was walking towards E street direction and the gentlemen were walking in a direction opposite to mine. They were walking around me and as such could not see the vehicles coming up from behind them.

anon #9.. you may want to try M&M 202-882-7122…they fixed my dishwasher once and..they are coming out Monday to work on some stuff for me…
good luck

oops..of course i meant #11
…must be friday

You are a 30 year old professional dining with your wife/husband. You go to a restaurant in PQ and are paying over $75 a person for a meal. The place is really classy and the waiters are there to serve you….then after you order a $50 bottle of wine (which probably sells for $15 at the supermarket) you and your date get ID’d. To me it ruins the experience of going out.

Also – I think if parents want to permit their slightly (18+) underage kids to drink some wine at a fancy meal, it should be up to the parents, not the government.

It does in fact take more than one incident to get a suspension of your liquor license. From what I understand, a 3rd strike gets the fine and the suspension.

However, I might add that the ABRA board often is uses quite a bit of trickery, sending people out with expired licenses, military ID’s that bartenders don’t often see, etc…

Alco Appliance in MD does a good job. (301) 937-6996.

Good luck.

I understand that a similar suspension happened to Cafe Atlantico a few weeks ago, but the story there was slightly different. Apparently, an of-age ABRA plant attempted to order alcohol and was properly carded, but the ID was suspended — and Cafe Atlantico’s liquor license was suspended as a result. Assuming this is an accurate description of the event (it is the description I heard from restaurant staff), this sounds a bit extreme. It’s one thing to target serving minors (or more particularly minors who are using someone else’s expired ID), but quite another to punish serving of-age folks (regardless of the state of their IDs).

Anon 12:53 p.m. here. In my summary of the Cafe Atlantico situation, I meant to type that the ID was “expired” rather than “suspended.” Sorry for the confusion.

Is there any other country in the world that routinely requires people to show ID in restaurants?

Sure, we were colonized by religious fundamentalists four centuries ago, but isn’t it about time we got over it?

#20 – sorry, I actually don’t have a problem with enforcing law and order.

While I agree that suspending a license simply for not noting that an ID was expired even for an over-21 person is pretty heavy-handed, but I suspect there was more to the story or past incidents.

This was not Jaleo’s first offense – atleast that’s what the bar staff told me. I think it was their 2nd or 3rd so I think the punishment was right on mark. Also, I believe the underage people they use are in HIGH SCHOOL or MIDDLE SCHOOL, not expired Ids….

The shops/venues are not the problem. They should make these underage kids responsible for their actions too. They should make it law that if you show a fake ID or are caught under age drinking you get points on your license. They do that and you will see a dramatic drop in incidents at restaurants/clubs/lounges.

So, an expired ID is not proof of age? Are they afraid that someone may grow younger?

I was really worried about the groups of young rowdy kids drinking sangria in the neighborhood. Good thing DCRA is punishing outstanding restuarants. Maybe they can even force them to close. It is much better to have vacant buildings. But wait, then who will the drunk vagrants hassle?

Seriously, when was the last time a liquor store was busted for serving intoxicated people (which is also against the law)?

Instead of wasting time on checking for expiration dates on IDs, how about the city fund more police presence outside McDonalds on 7th. The area keeps getting worse on weekend nights. I walked by on Saturday night and there were almost 100 disordely teens hassling and verbally assaulting people passing by. It’s only a matter of time until gang or other physical violence erupts in that area.

#25,

You’ll learn like I have that you never walk along 7th Street on a Saturday night. The MPD has totally surrendered it to these gangs, who have free reign to harass and assault people. And you are right, it’s only a matter of time before more serious violence takes place.

Maybe it’s time we start pressuring McD’s to do something about this, because that store is the scourge of the street.

They should be punished for serving bad food…tapas are not good.