Commission Reprimands Restaurant

The Cambridge License Commission last night issued a stern warning to the Druid Restaurant, located at 1357 Cambridge St., where a bartender was observed serving alcohol to a minor earlier this year.

Andrea Boyer, Chief Licensing Investigator for the City of Cambridge, testified that she targeted five area restaurants in a sting operation on February 20. Boyer reported that she witnessed an illegal transaction--the sale of alcohol to a person under the age of 21--only at the Druid establishment.

Boyer told the commission last night that as part of the operation she sent an underage individual carrying no form of identification and only enough money to purchase a drink into several area establishments.

These included S & S Restaurant and Deli, Chili's Bar and Grill, Crimson Sports Grille, Border Cafe and Druid Restaurant.

Boyer later described how she followed her agent into each location and pretended to make a phone call as the minor ordered a draft beer. At each request for identification, according to Boyer, the underage agent responded as instructed, "No, I don't have any."

Boyer said that Andrea Gillis, the bartender on duty at Druid Restaurant at the time of the sting, who also appeared at last evening's hearing, served the minor. Boyer added that when Gillis went to get change after receiving money for the drink, Boyer replaced her underage agent at the bar and informed Gillis that she had broken the law and would be hearing from the commission.

After Boyer testified, Benjamin C. Barnes, chair of the commission, recognized Druid's manager, John Flaherty, who apologized for his employee's breach and accepted blame for the incident.

"Although I may delegate authority," Flaherty said, "I may never abdicate responsibility."

In response to Druid's violation, the commission decided to issue a stern warning, citing the restaurant's clean record and remorseful manager as the reason for the mild penalty.

Richard V. Scali, the commission's legal counsel, suggested that in order to remain consistent with past decisions, the commission ought to require Druid's owner and manager to attend meetings of the Cambridge Liquor Advisory Board.

In addition to hearing the Druid complaint, the commission also deliberated over requests for liquor licenses from the owner of Brew Moon, which is seeking to expand its restaurant at 50 Church St. into adjoining space recently vacated by Cafe Fiorella.

The manager of the Elephant Walk restaurant, which is moving from its current location in Somerville to the space formerly occupied by Finnegan's Wake pub in Porter Square and the manager of 7-Eleven, which is replacing Christy's Market at 36-40 John F. Kennedy St.