Nearly 1 out of 4 businesses in Greeley who sell alcohol were busted last Saturday for selling booze to minors. Almost 25%!! Are you kidding me? This shocking statistic was a big wake up call to the city of Greeley this weekend.
The Greeley Tribune reported today that during a routine sweep of businesses, they used under aged persons with their own IDs and were able to either get served alcohol or were able to buy alcohol from a store with little problem.
Greeley police checked 65 out of the 138 establishments in the town that serve or sell alcohol. The good news is that there were NO liquor stores that sold alcohol to minors, but the rest were from grocery stores, convenience stores and local restaurants.
The City of Greeley follows state law which allows businesses who were found in violation of liquor laws many chances to correct their mistakes. They may temporarily lose their right to serve alcohol for several days, but to date, not one liquor establishment in town has lost their license completely.
For one of the two current breweries in Greeley, Pitcher's Brewery and Sports Shack passed the test and did not serve alcohol to undercover minors. Greeley's other brewery, Crabtree Brewing Company was not involved in the operation.
Some of the violators included: Safeway, Olive Garden, a couple of 7-Elevens and several other restaurants.
Here's my thoughts on this: I'm really glad than none of our local liquor stores were found to be in violation. They seem to have their staffs well trained as they are one of the primary sources of liquor sources in the town.
However, it's the convenience stores and grocery stores that sell 3.2 beer that seem to have lax standards for selling alcohol to minors. And these are the places that are lobbying to the Colorado legislature to get the ability to sell full strength beer, wine and alcohol. That raises a red flag to me.
I've always been against the idea of adding full strength booze sales at grocery and convenience stores for this very reason. These stores simply don't take enough efforts to train their employees on how to prevent alcohol sales to minors.
I'd like to see only liquor stores sell full strength alcohol. They're entire livelihood is bases on alcohol sales. They can't afford to lose their license for 5 to 10 days at a time. Whereas, grocery stores and convenience stores have just a small percentage of their sales from alcohol and can afford to lose their licenses for a short period of time.
It's a shame that nearly a fourth of all businesses checked were in violation. After getting some required re-training of their employees, I hope this trend doesn't continue. Do you wonder how your town is doing on liquor violations? Hopefully, it's not as bad as they found it here in Greeley.
Related articles:
- Here we go again with Colorado beer laws.
- Liquor now sold 7 days a week in Colorado. (2008)
- Attitudes towards beer start early.
- How old is that beer you just bought?
This article came from FermentedlyChallenged.com - a Colorado beer blog.
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Friday, January 27, 2012
Greeley police sting busts businesses for alcohol violations
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25% !?!?!?! That is a disturbingly high number. I guess I don't quite understand how this can happen. I'm a 42 year old man who hasn't looked anywhere close to young enough to be carded in a long time, and I STILL get carded from time to time.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think every place that sells alcohol should do what my favorite liquor does ... just make it a policy to card everyone... even old looking bastards like me.
I'm over 50 and I still get carded at some places. I always give them a look as if to say (are you kidding me?) but hey, at least they are doing their job.
ReplyDeleteIf grocery stores were allowed to sell regular beer and wine, they'd tighten up their practices. Believe me. I come from a state where beer an wine can be bought in the grocery store and there are so many pluses for the consumer, the first being competition. For instance, I can buy a six pack of Fat Tire in a grocery store in WA or OR for $6.99. However, here in Colorado, 15 miles from the source, I pay $8.99. Competition is good for the consumer!!!
ReplyDeleteAs far as the underage kiddos buying at Greeley buying from grocery stores and restaurants... do we really think this is an epidemic? I think most underage kiddos get their liquor from people they know... parents, friends, etc. I don't really think that many are going in to buy 3.2 beer from King Soopers. I guess I'm just not a real fan of these types of "stings." Seems like the Greeley PD just made a ton of money off of fines, if you ask me, and probably didn't do much to stop underage drinking.
Heidi - It's probably a good thing that these routine checks by Greeley are being done, otherwise it may become even more of a commonplace thing. While this type of thing isn't anything new and not exactly what I'd call an epidemic, it's still a good reminder that there is always room for improvement at these establishments. Kids will always find a way to get what they want. It's been that way for nearly 80+ years in this country.
ReplyDeleteMy son used to work at a grocery store in Greeley and he said that they gave them some minimal training on alcohol. Supposedly they were to card anyone who looked 40 or younger. I think it's better to just card everyone for liquor regardless of age just to be on the safe side.
These stings are a not so subtle reminder that there are laws out there for a reason. I think Greeley does this more often since there have been underage alcohol related deaths recently in town and they're trying to do their due diligence to crack down on sources of easy to get alcohol.