Council Serves Up Two More Alcohol Fines to City Restaurants

The East Providence City Council held two Show Cause Hearings during Tuesday's  for the sale of alcohol to minors, this time focusing on and .

Tuesday's council hearings were the third and fourth this year. , Avenue N received a $250 fine after owner Nick Rabar took responsibility before the council for what he saw as an oversight. East Buffet was also issued a fine but saw it doubled to $500 after the owners did not attend the hearing.

On the matter of El Azteca, Sgt. John Andrews of the told the council that the June 16 violation was the second time in less than a year that the establishment had been caught serving a minor. The first offense took place on July 8, 2010. Both instances recorded a 17-year-old minor being served alcohol.

To date, all four restaurants fined by the council were subject to using youth decoys stemming from a state-funded program led by the East Providence Prevention Coalition and the police department.

Because this was its second offense in less than a year, the maximum penalty for El Azteca carried a $1,000 fine and a mandatory three-day closing of business. While in favor of the maximum fine, Sgt. Andrews said he did not support the three-day closing of the El Azteca.

"If we close this place for three days, even though I think it's warranted ... We're going to put the burden on the employees, and they're going to lose their jobs for three days," Andrews said.

El Azteca attorney Donna Nesselbush spoke on behalf of her client, owner Jose Sanchez, citing a "language barrier." In her client's defense, Nessbelbushsaid she has "lectured" all of those involved with the family-run business over the importance having every serving staff member TIPS certified, along with asking for identification from patrons.

Nesselbush appealed to the council to not only reduce the maximum fine, citing a poor economy, but also the mandatory three-day closing. The council ultimately voted to implement the maximum fine of $1,000 and to take Sgt. Andrews' suggestion of not closing the business for three days.

Riverside Kitchen owner Jared Aronson was fined $250, but not without resistance. Aronson initially explained the mistake by stating that the server responsible was not TIPS certified and that she was filling in for the server who was certified, after that server had called out of work. Aronson also pointed to the fact that both bottles were unopened when the police came into his establishment and that "no money was exchanged."

Aronson went on to elude to his grasp of the seriousness of the issue, saying that if he had seen it, it never would have happened, though he did say that the restaurant features an open floor plan with an exposed kitchen, where he was working at the time of the incident.

Aronson went on to say that Sgt. Andrews' suggested minimum fine of $250 was "a little steep," given the fact that the press coverage of the event was "enough payment."