Police are cracking down on underage drinking in Conway restaurants. In the past week, an undercover police officer has escorted an underage patron to eight different restaurants to see if the minor was able to purchase alcohol as part of a random alcohol compliance check.
A disturbing five of the eight restaurants served alcohol to the minor and failed the test. One of these restaurants was the Bear’s Den, which is across the street from UCA. In this instance, the minor was served alcohol even though both of his hands were marked with an X, labeling him as a minor.
This must improve. A restaurant in such close proximity to a college should be even more alert to minors trying to purchase alcohol than any other restaurant. In order to better enforce the law, a stricter penalty should be imposed.
As the law stands, the person who actually served alcohol to the minor is fined $200 to $500. The manager of the establishment is immediately informed that the restaurant has failed the test. Most restaurants have a policy to fire an employee who serves alcohol to minors, but the law doesn’t require it to do so.
The law should require employers to fire any employee caught serving alcohol to underage drinkers. Servers who know they will lose their jobs if they are caught selling alcohol to a minor will be more likely to thoroughly check IDs.
At three of the failing locations, Michelangelo’s, U.S. Pizza and Cactus Jack, the server asked for ID. They were shown the actual ID, with the patron’s actual age and they still served the minor. It is clear that even if servers ask for ID, many of them aren’t making certain the patron is of the legal drinking age.
The server at Ruby Tuesday, the fifth failing restaurant, didn’t even ask for ID.
According to THV, the three restaurants that passed the test and refused to serve the minor were Zaza, Logan’s Steakhouse and Buffalo Wild Wings.
Conway is part of Faulkner County, which is a “dry” county, meaning no alcohol is sold in convenience stores or liquor stores. Until a few years ago, alcohol was served in only a select few restaurants in Conway.
The law should ban any restaurant that is caught serving alcohol to minors to serve alcohol for one year. Some people may think that penalty is too harsh, especially for a first offense. I disagree.
If a restaurant owner knows his liquor license may be suspended for a year if one of his servers is caught serving to a minor, he is going to make sure the servers are asking for and actually checking IDs.
A minimum drinking age is imposed for several reasons, including trying to limit the number of alcohol-related deaths. This is an important safety law and should be vigorously enforced.
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I agree with you to the extent that those who do not follow the current laws should be punished. However, the current drinking age (and culture in the US as a whole) is one of the largest parts of the problem.
For evidence of this one only needs to look at various modernized nations around the world. I’ve lived in 3 countries and traveled to 11 total so far and I can say that from my observations there were far less alcohol incidents in the cultures where there was less of a taboo.
In my experiences binge drinking is MUCH more of a problem in the United States than any of the places I’ve been. I believe this has to do with the fact that instead of teaching young adults how to drink responsibly, we simply say “don’t do it”. For further evidence of the “don’t do it” approach being a greatly ineffective method, research the connection between teen birthrates and abortions in counties/cities that ONLY have abstinence-only programs available.
Instead of just saying “don’t drink until 21″ the age should be lowered to that of a legal adult. We’re able to give our lives in the military before we can legally have a sip of beer. Instead of focusing so much time and energy on those between 18-21 that are drinking, how about we work on fixing the culture and countering the negative behaviors instead. People react to incentives. If you tell them it’s illegal to drink under 21, it only makes me of them feel more “cool” or like a “rebel”. How about instead, we focus on the REAL problem with people drinking under 21, which is belligerent and uncivil behavior, as well as dangerous things like drinking and driving. Punish them severely for violent fights, destruction of property, and intoxicated driving. There should be a distinct separation between the level of punishment for uncivil behavior and someone who was simply consuming a beverage.
Having the drinking age at 21 causes more problems then it prevents. It works the same was as having a “dry county” in a city with three colleges…it gives the illusion of “doing the right thing”, however everyone will quickly see that this system built on taboos does not last in a culture with with individuals so vastly different from each other.
Most parents of younger children know that the moment you tell a child “no” they usually smile, turn around and do it anyways. Education is the key, not an iron fist.