Telegraph Pub Re-Opens With New Ownership After Violation
Friday, April 24, 2009
Category: News > City > Business
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Comments (Three weeks into its most recent alcohol license suspension in December, a popular restaurant and bar on Telegraph Avenue switched its ownership and name.
Raleigh's American Pub & Grill's alcohol license was suspended for 25 days beginning on Dec. 18 after the restaurant was caught selling alcohol to a minor in May, according to John Carr, public information officer for the Alcoholic Beverage Control department.
During the suspension, the restaurant closed its bar and was only allowed to sell food.
On Jan. 9, three days before the suspension was set to expire, owner Gregory Ent sold Raleigh's to its manager, Manny Lopez, who changed its name to Manny's Tap Room.
Ent and Lopez could not be reached for comment.
According to Carr, Manny's Tap Room will not incur any of the previous establishment's alcohol violations on its record.
"The new owners start with a new slate," he said. "They have nothing to do with previous owners."
The department has the authority to revoke the alcohol license of businesses caught making three sales to minors within a three-year period, Carr said.
Raleigh's most recent violation is the second one within a three-year period. The first offense, which occurred in 2006, resulted in a 20-day license suspension, he said.
Two Berkeley restaurants, including Raleigh's, were cited among the 23 on Telegraph Avenue that carry alcohol, according to Carr.
The department is responsible for monitoring more than 80,000 restaurants that sell alcohol in California and can issue violators a letter of warning or license revocation, he said.
"We want to do what we can to keep young people safe," Carr said.
Roland Peterson, executive director of the Telegraph Business Improvement District, said he was not sure if the ownership switch was related to the restaurant's alcohol violations.
However, he said he thinks the management was not directly responsible for past violations and he does not anticipate that the restaurant will change significantly.
"Previous violations, from what I understood, were mostly a result of employees who-even though (they) were told otherwise-didn't follow directions," he said.
Contact Erika Oblea at eoblea@dailycal.org.
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