ALCOHOL AND GAMING COMMISSION OF ONTARIO
IN THE MATTER OF The: Liquor Licence Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.19, as amended
B E T W E E N:
Registrar, Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario Registrar
-and-
Central Bar & Grill Ltd. O/A Central Bar & Grill Licensee
DECISION ON FINDINGS
Panel: Jacqueline Castel, Board Member Allan Higdon, Board Member
Decision Date: December 3, 2009
Hearing Location: Toronto, Ontario
Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario 90 Sheppard Avenue East, Suite 300 Toronto, Ontario M2N 0A4 Phone: (416) 326-0366 Fax: (416) 326-5566 Toll Free In Ontario: 1-800-522-2876 Website: www.agco.on.ca
Appearances
Registrar, Alcohol and Gaming Commission ) Richard Kulis, Representative Central Bar & Grill Ltd., Licensee ) Alfred Herman, Representative
Allegation
- A hearing into Notice of Proposal (“NOP”) number 17102 dated March 6, 2009 to suspend liquor licence number 90060 (the “Licence”), issued to Central Bar & Grill Ltd. (the “Licensee”), operating as CENTRAL BAR & GRILL, 1946-48 Weston Road, Toronto, Ontario, M9N 1W2, (the “establishment” or the “premises”), on the basis of alleged violations of sections 29 and 43 of Ontario Regulation 719/90 (the “O.Reg.”), prescribed under the Liquor Licence Act (the “LLA”), was held on July 14 and October 15, 2009, in the City of Toronto.
Decision
- The Board FINDS the Licensee contravened sections 29 and 43 of the O.Reg. Reasons follow.
Preliminary Matters
Mr. Herman requested an adjournment on the ground that he was notified late the night prior to the hearing that one of the Licensee’s witnesses, Mr. Hamilton, was ill and would be unable to attend the hearing. Mr. Snell, one of the Registrar’s witnesses, was also not able to attend because of a family emergency, and he would have been an important witness for Mr. Herman’s client as well.
Mr. Kulis indicated that Mr. Snell was not critical to his case and he would be prepared to proceed on July 14, 2009 with the witnesses who were available.
Given that the Registrar’s witnesses were in attendance, the Board decided to hear the Registrar’s case on July 14, 2009 and an additional hearing day was set, with the consent of both parties, for the purpose of completing the hearing.
Registrar’s Evidence
Detective Sergeant (“D/Sgt.”) Eric Dugan has been a member of the Toronto Police Service for 29 years. He attended the establishment, in uniform, on April 12, 2008 at 2:50 a.m.
There were 40 or 50 people still in the premises. He counted five people drinking from beer bottles.
The establishment is divided into two rooms, the north room, which has a dance area, and a south room. He observed five people on the dance floor holding beer bottles. There were also a few bottles of beer on a table at the front of the north room. A table at the front of the south room near the exit was entirely covered with beer bottles.
He spoke with the manager, Ms Alana Frasier, in the south room. While they were speaking, he saw two customers consuming the remainder of the beer in their bottles. They could have been the same people he observed on the dance floor.
At the same time, staff were cleaning up and attempting to take beer bottles from patrons.
The doorman ensured that patrons deposited their bottles on a table by the exit before they left.
D/Sgt. Dugan exited at 3:00 a.m. On exiting, the owner, Mr. Allen, approached him and indicated that some of his staff had called in sick and his manager was not well. D/Sgt. Dugan informed Mr. Allen that the signs of service must be removed by 2:45 a.m.
On cross-examination, D/Sgt. Dugan indicated that he attended the premises alone. He also indicated that he attended one other establishment the same evening for the purpose of conducting a LLA inspection.
D/Sgt. Dugan submitted a 266 Form, along with his notes, to his Superintendent the weekend of the inspection, but he does not know why it would have taken five months for the Licensee to have been charged. He is not the person who is responsible for laying charges.
He does not recall the next time, after April 12, 2008, he attended the establishment, but he does not believe he has found any other infractions at this premises.
He does not recall whether the patrons dancing with beer bottles were males or females.
When he was speaking to Mr. Allen, two people walked out, drinking from beer bottles. They put their bottles on the table by the door before they exited.
In response to a question from the Panel, he indicated he noticed staff running around clearing up after he entered, not when he entered.
He does not know the number of staff who were working or whether the people clearing up were Ms Frasier or Mr. Allen.
D/Sgt. Andre Pierre has been