Permitting Sales to Visibly Intoxicated Patrons
This article was originally published in The Pennsylvania Observer / Pennsylvania Beverage Media in August 2024. A pdf version can be found here. Q: I have a restaurant with a liquor license, and my establishment received a citation for sales to a visibly intoxicated patron. The patron supposedly had bloodshot and glassy eyes, slurred speech, and apparently had fallen asleep at the bar. The State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement (BLCE) officers alleged that when the patron woke up, the bartender served him another beer. I questioned my three bartenders and they denied that anyone that evening seemed to…