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Madonna Seafood fined for serving alcohol to minorNov 29, 2012 (The Aegis - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Madonna Seafood Restaurant in White Hall will need to pay a $500 fine to the Harford County Liquor Control Board after being found guilty of serving alcohol to a minor. The decision came during a show cause hearing before the liquor board Wednesday afternoon, when licensees Rose and Mark Walters did not refute the statement of facts from the board's chief inspector, Charles Robbins. The charge stems from a Sept. 27 compliance test when a server at Madonna Seafood served a beer to an underage employee of the liquor board. The server did not request identification, the statement of facts read, and gave no reason as to why she didn't ask to see proper identification. Mark Walters told the board that he has held a liquor license for nearly 30 years and this is the first time an issue like this has occurred. "I was a little livid," he said, when he was told the establishment failed the compliance test. The server, in her 50s, Walters said, was not fired as "she just had poor judgment." Walters apologized for the incident and suggested that employees who violate any liquor laws be penalized to hold them responsible for their actions. "They could care less, a lot of them," he said, and penalizing the servers might give them more reason to be more careful. Board chairman Donald Hess, who is familiar with the restaurant, said an "older group" works there and "it's easy to become complacent" with the law. "This probably woke them up," he said. "You're as good as the people who work for you," Walters commented. He added that he is scheduling training on the county's liquor laws for the entire staff as a result of the incident. License approval Two new businesses received licenses -- The Deck Crab House and Bar in Edgewood and Pool N' Pints in Aberdeen. Deck Crab House, at 2207 Pulaski Highway, will take over the previous Wet Willy's space and will serve beer and wine. Licensee Brenda Galbraith said she hopes to open in the beginning of January, but, more realistically, it will probably be late January. Pool N' Pints, 8 Aberdeen Shopping Plaza, recently completed renovations to the space and hoped to do a soft run for friends and family that same night and possibly open to the public this weekend. One-day licenses Four one-day beer and wine licenses, as well as one one-day beer, wine and liquor license, were approved by the board. Harford County 4-H Clubs will hold a dance at Deer Creek Overlook Saturday, Northeast Maryland Tech Council will have a networking event at HBIC in Belcamp Dec. 4, Ladew Topiary Gardens will hold a reception in its studio and gallery Dec. 6 and the Havre de Grace Chamber of Commerce will have a Christmas luncheon at Arts by the Bay Gallery Dec. 13. The beer, wine and liquor license will be used by Chesapeake Professional Women's Network for a holiday party at Beechtree Dec. 11. ___ (c)2012 The Aegis (Bel Air, Md.) Visit The Aegis (Bel Air, Md.) at www.baltimoresun.com/explore/harford/publications/the-aegis Distributed by MCT Information Services |