La Residence case settled, ABC tackles underage drinking

The ABC Commission ratified the offer of compromise for La Residence at their November meeting Wednesday. 

The proposed settlement included a suspension of La Residence’s ABC permits for 50 days, beginning on Dec. 18. If the restaurant pays a $5,000 fine by Dec. 11, La Residence can avoid the last 36 days of the suspension. 

Syd Alexander, the lawyer representing La Residence, said the restaurant plans on paying the fine and resuming the sale of alcohol after the two-week suspension ends. 

Agnes Stevens, spokesperson for the ABC Commission said La Residence would then be able to sell alcohol starting at 7 a.m. on Jan. 1. 

“We are relieved that this part of the whole process is over with,” Alexander said. “These charges affect us in a drastic way.”

La Residence was one of two Chapel Hill businesses where authorities say former UNC student Chandler Kania used a fraudulent ID prior to driving the wrong way down I-85 and hitting another car head-on, killing three people on July 19.

“I think that’s why the ABC Commission wanted such extreme penalties, because of the tragedy that occurred hours later,” Alexander said.

Allegations against La Residence say the restaurant failed to determine the age of five underage patrons, but Alexander said there is no proof that Kania actually bought alcohol at La Residence. He also said all five underage people had valid IDs that belonged to other people who were of age. 

The ABC Commission previously rejected a signed offer of compromise from La Residence at their October meeting. The previous settlement was either a 50 day suspension of ABC permits or the option to pay a $5,000 fine, but this offer was rejected in favor of a stronger penalty. 

“The second (offer of compromise) was stiffer than the first, so I think we accomplished what we wanted to do,” said Jim Gardner, chairperson of the N.C. ABC Commission.

La Residence was one of 122 cases ratified at the November meeting. The ABC Commission levied over $200,000 in penalties and/or suspensions of ABC permits for five days or more, according to a press release.

Gardner said 67 percent of the 122 cases settled at Wednesday’s meeting involved underage drinking. He said 50 percent or more of cases throughout the year dealt with underage drinking. 

In a news conference after the meeting, Gardner spoke on three efforts against underage drinking: the Talk it Out campaign, training permit holders and enforcement. 

“What we are doing is to try to start a very, very aggressive campaign of training people who have permits about their responsibility of dealing with underage drinking,” Gardner said. “We have trained over 4,000 permit (holders) this year, and we will continue to do it into next year, going into every college town in the state.”

Chapel Hill had 16 businesses with offers in compromise ratified Wednesday, and 15 of those involved underage drinking. Two out of seven Raleigh cases and 14 out of 15 Durham involved selling to an underage person.

“We can’t talk this problem away; we can’t treat it away,” Gardner said. “It’s got to be a long-term situation in which the state of North Carolina, being in the alcohol business, also has a responsibility to see that all of our children are protected in the state.

“The final responsibility and the ultimate responsibility is on the permit holder.”

@erin_kolstad

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