The Riverstone Bar and Grill is serving a 12-day suspension as a result of what two police officers saw in May they were assigned to post a notice for a four-day suspension for a previous transgression.
According to details obtained this week from the provincial liquor control and licencing board (LCLB), the officers showed up at about 12:30 a.m. on May 27 to post the notice to find "one very intoxicated person."
They were called back 90 minutes later as a result of a call for police and ambulance to find the person still there and another "intoxicated patron vomiting in the washroom."
As a result, the Riverstone was hit with the suspension for permitting an intoxicated person to remain in the establishment. Because it was the second time within a year that the Riverstone was found to have committed the infraction, the term was set at 12 days.
The suspension will end this Monday, but Riverstone minority owner Brock Gable said the location will not be reopened once the term is up because the business has been hit too hard financially to recover from the blow.
Although he agrees with the provincial government's move last fall to automatic three-day driving suspensions for anyone found behind the wheel with a blood-alcohol level over .05, Gable said it has led to a significant drop in business.
To counter that effect, Gable said penalties for LCLB infractions should be lightened.
"A smaller suspension, a possible fine rather than a suspension, any number of different ways," Gable suggested. "A 12-day suspension is severe and it ends the business at the Riverstone."
LCLB spokeswoman Cindy Stephenson said the current scale of penalties has been in place for nearly 10 years and was not changed with the introduction of the automatic driving suspensions in November.
The Riverstone was also fined $2,000 after earlier the same night an LCLB saw a patron walk out of the establishment with an open bottle of wine.
According to a LCLB decision, the first suspension was given for a December 2010 incident where an inspector came across three police officers dealing with the aftermath of a fight outside the Riverstone.
One of the combatants was accompanied by an intoxicated woman who was staggering and whose speech was slurred. Upon further investigation, the inspector learned the two had been in the bar for about 90 minutes before the fight broke out outside and the woman was already drunk upon her arrival.
She was not served, it was noted, but was also not removed.
"Despite not being served by staff she may have obtained liquor from other patrons in the establishment," wrote an LCLB adjudicator. "A licensee may allow an intoxicated person to remain in an unlicensed area while waiting for assistance or a ride home, but may not permit an intoxicated person to remain in a licensed area."
The adjudicator also noted a similar problem arose in May 2010, causing the inspector to meet with management and staff to ensure they understood their responsibilities while no suspension or fine was issued.
