An award-winning bar caught serving liquor to minors twice in 15 months has been ordered to close its doors for three days, after a clampdown on illegal liquor sales in Havelock North.
The Liquor Licensing Authority has suspended the licence of Pipi Bar in Joll Rd from August 22 to 24. The co-owner of Pipi Bar, Alexandra Tylee, could not be contacted for comment.
The ban comes as police, the district council and those in the liquor and entertainment business move to resolve overcrowding at bars in the village to prevent a recurrence of the nightlife disorder which escalated in the area about four years ago.
Hawke's Bay Police Alcohol Prevention Group team leader Sergeant Nigel Formosa said: "You can't be a responsible host when your bar is over-crowded. It's a recipe for disaster at the end of the night."
But he said Havelock North was "getting better". The village's Liquor Accord, formed in the wake of the past problems and involving representatives of all bars and restaurants in the area, recently agreed to further steps like better security and patrols.
The suspension of Pipi Bar's licence comes as Te Mata Four Square superette has also being suspended from selling liquor from August 24 to 26, after being caught serving minors.
Two other bars in the area face similar licence suspension applications before the authority next month - the Happy Tav for alleged breaches of restricted Good Friday trading regulations, and Diva Bar and Bistro, a rare premises licence suspension application because of drink-driving convictions for two of its company directors.
Pipi Bar, open less than two years as an adjunct to the Pipi Cafe across the street, was first hit for serving two 17-year-old girls without querying their ages in a police and Hastings District Council controlled-purchase operation in February last year.
As a result the Liquor Licensing Authority ordered a 24-hour closure the following May 12, less than a fortnight before the bar was named the Outstanding Bar in the 2011 Hawke's Bay Hospitality Awards.
The new suspension follows a controlled-purchase operation in which a 17-year-old boy and a girl aged 16 entered the premises on June 22 this year. They were not asked to establish their ages or provide proof of identity.
In decisions released last week, the authority also ordered a three-week suspension of the manager's certificate for the manager on duty at the time.
The Te Mata Four Square's liquor sales suspension results from the June 22 operation, as do suspensions of manager certificates for two staff of Hastings' Countdown supermarket, one for four weeks and the other for a fortnight.
At the Licensing Authority hearings in Napier next month, police will be seeking the cancellation of the liquor licences of the Angus Inn and bottle store in Hastings, after a series of offences over the past six years.
They include four of selling liquor to minors, other concerns about a function in which intoxicated teenagers were on the premises, and also alleged illegal bargain liquor trading (promoting or selling liquor at less than cost price).
Billy Burke's Irish Bar in Taradale is also facing a licence suspension application relating to selling to a minor on July 21, and other incidents of over-crowding and intoxication among patrons on St Patrick's Day, while the Meeanee Hotel faces action over a sale to minors, and alleged non-compliance with food regulations.
In another authority decision, award-winning Napier restaurateur Rebecca Allen-Rameka has had her general manager certificate suspended for a month, a standard extra penalty for a conviction for drink-driving. The co-proprietor of the Pacifica Restaurant on Napier's Marine Parade and last year's Hospitality Awards Front-of-House Personality award winner was stopped by police in Tennyson St, Napier, on May 24 with a breath-alcohol reading of 638mcg. Pleading guilty in court a fortnight later she was fined $580 and disqualified from driving for six months. Ms Allen-Rameka could not be contacted for comment.
The suspension doesn't affect the opening hours of the restaurant, so long as other certificated staff are present.
Hastings District Council community safety manager Philip Evans said that while it was disappointing that minors had been sold liquor, the operations showed the majority of premises were meeting their legal obligations.