Margarita's of Mystic Wins Good Neighbor Award

The Groton Adolescent Substance Abuse Prevention (GASP) Coalition is pleased to announce Margarita’s Mexican Restaurant, located in downtown Mystic, as the recipient of the 2014 Good Neighbor Award.

Margarita’s was chosen because of their consistent record of passing compliance checks. Compliance checks are conducted randomly by town and city police, in conjunction with Department of Consumer Protection’s Liquor Control Division, in bars, restaurants and liquor retail outlets.

The Good Neighbor Award was created in 2013 to recognize a leader in the Groton community whose actions promote improved health and prevention of adolescent substance abuse.

Dan Lederer, a representative from Margarita’s, shared their philosophy and commitment to keeping the community safe: “Margarita’s Mexican Restaurant is delighted to be honored by Ledge Light Health District and the GASP Coalition as a Good Neighbor. We have always kept the safety and well-being of our guests, neighbors and community as a priority. We have always, and will continue to, train our team members on the importance of safe alcohol service, proper ID compliance and responsible serving. We require that all our managers, servers and bartenders be certified in responsible alcohol service every year. We are in the business of making people happy, but we also know that as members of the community, we have a responsibility to be safe so that we can continue to create more happy memories with all our guests and neighbors.”

The GASP Coalition provides TIPS® training to Groton businesses several times per year to support seller/servers in passing compliance and keeping the community safe.

TIPS® (Training for Intervention ProcedureS) is a dynamic, skills-based training program designed to prevent intoxication, drunk driving and underage drinking by enhancing the fundamental “people skills” of servers, sellers and consumers of alcohol.

For more information about the GASP Coalition, and upcoming TIPS® trainings, please contact Carolyn Wilson at cwilson@llhd.org

The above information and photo were provided in a press release by the Ledge Light Health District.

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