SNOW HILL — Alcoholic beverage license violations were light this spring, with the Worcester County Board of License Commissioners (BLC) only holding two violation hearings at their May meeting. The hearings resulted in $1,000 in total fines and some minor limitations to one operation’s entertainment plan.
The first hearing held by the board was for a sale to minor alcohol violation. Committed by a bartender at Pickles Pub, located at 706 N. Philadelphia Avenue in Ocean City, the sale occurred during the bar’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Attorney Mark Cropper, representing the pub, made note of this as a large part of why the violation occurred.
“Not only is St. Patrick’s Day one of the busiest days of the year at this establishment, but it was the busiest day in the history of Pickles Pub,” the attorney said.
At the time of the sale, there were only three bartenders working with another three on the way. The group was caught off guard by the rush, said Cropper, and an error was made when an underage police cadet was sold an alcoholic beverage. The BLC acknowledged that there was a crunch but had some concerns about the report filed by the Ocean City Police Department (OCPD).
OCPD Officer Nathan Kutz reported that he was delayed several minutes when attempting to discuss the sale with the bartender, who he wrote was “curt” and somewhat impolite.
However, Kutz told the board during the meeting that, due to the crowd, a slight delay while the bartender dealt with his current orders before stepping away was normal.
“One by one they were getting the receipts taken care of and then, eventually, when they had a free moment we all walked back,” said Kutz. “At that point in time, I was cognizant of the fact that they were busy and I let them do what they needed to do.”
Kutz maintained that he did get the impression of being a little rushed but by his assessment Pickles is not a problem property. OCPD Sgt. Doug Smith delivered a similar assessment and clarified that the report goes into so much detail about the interaction with Pickles staff not because it was unusually hostile but because other recent and far more hostile encounters with county license holders have forced the OCPD to evolve documentation policies.
“Unfortunately, because of other businesses, and you’re aware, that we’ve had rough exchanges with we’ve had to document literally every word that is said now because of accusations that go back and forth,” Smith said. “And that’s why those statements are in the report. Again, in no way did he confer to me that this was a bad exchange.”
The board voted to impose a $1,000 fine for the violation, with BLC Chair William Esham agreeing that bars can be busy but he still expects license holders and their staff to cooperate with police officers to every realistic degree and to be respectful during the proceedings.
The second and final hearing was for Bahia Marina and Fish Tales, located at 2107 Herring Way in Ocean City, and involved a noise complaint made in March. Neighbor Joy Ruffing and her husband appeared before the board last week to ask that something be done to address what they consider escalating noise issues from Fish Tales. Owning a nearby condominium, Ruffing told the BLC that she moved in knowing that they would be living near a major restaurant and bar but had no problems for the first few years. Unfortunately, she said that things have changed.
“It just seems that through the years the noise level and the activity with serving alcohol in the parking lot and at events and what not has just has just grown and grown and grown,” Ruffing said.
Cropper, representing Fish Tales, revealed that in response to the complaints the restaurant would self-impose some changes to its entertainment plan that will now be enforceable by the board. For a start, there will be no speakers facing south at Fish Tales’ parking lot except during a few special events. Likewise, except for those special events the bar will not be utilizing most of its southward facing parking lot for entertainment, a barrier will be in place to better mark the boundaries of the property, the northern exit/entrance will be designated as the primary ingress/egress for guests and the hot air driers will be removed from southern restrooms.
The Ruffings were glad to hear the changes but asked that Fish Tales also bring in their cornhole boards early as they are currently left out in the parking lot until closing. The restaurant was hesitant to give any more ground. Cropper pointed out to the BLC that, while Fish Tales takes noise complaints seriously, the restaurant was built well before the residential housing.
“That is creating much of this problem because a residential structure was allowed to be built in commercially zoned areas and that is a conflict of zoning that is creating part of this problem,” he said, adding that only the Ruffings so far have complained
Cropper made a fair point, according to Esham, but the fact remained that the Ruffings believed the noise was in excess of what was reasonable and would continue to lodge complaints with the OCPD. A compromise was reached with Fish Tales agreeing to bring the cornhole boards in at 11:30 p.m.