Bloomington Bar Punished for Underage Drinking
By: Jacob Long, WMBD/WYZZ-TV
Updated: September 26, 2012
BLOOMINGTON - A downtown Bloomington bar is in trouble with the city's liquor commission again.
Mayor Steve Stockton said Wednesday Main Street Grill has one of the worst records for liquor license holders.
The latest issue is tied to gambling and underage drinking violations.
However, under a plea agreement between the city and the bar's owner, the city is only punishing the bar for the underage drinking violation.
That means Main Street Grill must now close at midnight and turn off amplified music outside before 10 p.m. until further notice.
Its liquor license is also suspended for two consecutive weekends in November, and staff must be trained to spot and know how to prevent underage drinking.
Stockton said the idea is to make the bar more like a restaurant.
("We hope that if they focus on being a restaurant that will make them less prone to underage violations, and we do need restaurants downtown so that could be a win win for us," he said.
Stockton also said it was important not to have vacant buildings downtown, so the city did not want to put the bar out of business despite repeated complaints.
Main Street Grill, operating as Show Me's, once racked up 17 violations in one night.
Mayor Steve Stockton said Wednesday Main Street Grill has one of the worst records for liquor license holders.
The latest issue is tied to gambling and underage drinking violations.
However, under a plea agreement between the city and the bar's owner, the city is only punishing the bar for the underage drinking violation.
That means Main Street Grill must now close at midnight and turn off amplified music outside before 10 p.m. until further notice.
Its liquor license is also suspended for two consecutive weekends in November, and staff must be trained to spot and know how to prevent underage drinking.
Stockton said the idea is to make the bar more like a restaurant.
("We hope that if they focus on being a restaurant that will make them less prone to underage violations, and we do need restaurants downtown so that could be a win win for us," he said.
Stockton also said it was important not to have vacant buildings downtown, so the city did not want to put the bar out of business despite repeated complaints.
Main Street Grill, operating as Show Me's, once racked up 17 violations in one night.
