Derrick Ware says he closed the doors to his bar in January for an after-hours party, allowing a group of family members in mourning to drink after a funeral.
“I guess they just wanted to get out,” he told the city’s nine-member Beer and Wrecker Board on Thursday.
However, by allowing about 20 people to drink at The Den Sports Bar & Lounge at 3:30 a.m., Ware found himself facing a three-day suspension of his beer license. Under city rules, alcohol cannot be served after 3 a.m. and the board voted 8-1 to issue the suspension.
“In hindsight, I understand we should have had everyone gone at 3 a.m. That was a bad judgment call on myself,” Ware said.
The suspension at the club, at 1200 E. 23rd St., begins at 8 a.m. today.