Twice a year the Needham Police Department conducts underage compliance checks of all the stores and restaurants in town that hold a liquor license. They work in conjunction with the Public Health Division, which recruits underage volunteers who attempt to purchase alcohol as part of the compliance check protocol.
During the most recent check on March 19, four establishments were cited for underage serving violations and failure to check IDs with scanners. Three of them – Gari Japanese Fusion Bistro, Little Spoon Thai Kitchen and the Sheraton Needham Hotel were each sanctioned by the town with liquor license suspensions ranging from one day to one week.
For the fourth establishment, The James Pub, it was the third compliance check failure within five years, prompting the Select Board to hold a public hearing during its July 22 meeting to determine there was a violation and vote on how to address it.
After deliberation the board imposed a one-day license suspension for the compliance check failure and a six-day suspension for violating the town alcohol regulations. The suspensions will be done in two parts — a three-day period and a four-day period, over the coming 45 days.
“We regret and are embarrassed by this violation,” said Stuart Henry, owner of The James. “I’ve run The James for the last seven years. We’re a big part of the community. We consider The James basically our home and our guests and our neighbors part of our family. It’s just incredibly embarrassing.”
“The James is in fact, I would say, a beloved restaurant in Needham,” said Select Board member Marianne Cooley. “You have, in fact, a big responsibility to your staff and to the community.”
The James general manager Mary Kiely said the individual involved was a new staff member. “He was with us probably three weeks, maybe, total. He had just finished training. He had been checking IDs every day up until that day; I don’t know what happened at that moment,” she said. “We’re all very sorry. The James, the whole team, we’re very sorry.”
Cooley said, “I would hope that even when you have new employees that they understand how critical this is to your success that they adopt our community values and don’t serve underage individuals.”
Town regulations require that licensed liquor establishments request proof of identification “from any patron appearing to be under the age of 40 prior to any alcohol sale and confirm the authenticity of the identification card through the use of a digital card scanner.”
Kiely said they have added a note on their liquor menu so customers know they are required to check IDs. And she said they are now using digital scanners to verify the IDs as part of the routine for every staff member.
“It’s good to hear that you’ve made some changes because flatly, your training doesn’t seem to work,” said board member Kevin Keane. “Not if a new employee has made this mistake.”
Select Board Chair Heidi Frail said she was recently at The James and was asked for identification. Her husband did not have his, and was not served, though Frail noted he is over 40. “Our licenses were scanned at the table by our server so I think that’s a change in practice and one that we appreciate. So I do recognize that the foundation is in place,” she said.
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