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East Village Bar Caught Serving Booze To 40 Teenagers
By
Scott Heins
Published Feb 21, 2016
Modified Feb 21, 2016
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By
Scott Heins
Published Feb 21, 2016
Modified Feb 21, 2016
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Monday is National Margarita Day, but if you're underage and hanging out at Dahlia's Fine Mexican Cuisine, break out the salt because apparently EVERY DAY IS MARGARITA DAY! The East Village restaurant has long had a reputation for allegedly serving minors alcohol, and now the Post reports that the state has revoked its liquor license.
Dahlia's was raided on January 30th following a 911 call reporting underage drinking. Police initially found the exits to the restaurant locked; inside were 43 patrons under the age of 18. Amongst them were five 16-year-olds and a 15-year-old, the tabloid reports. Most of the underage drinkers hailed from suburbs including Scarsdale and Larchmont, and none of them had been ID'd by Dahlia's staff.
"The 'emergency' suspension was ordered by members of the SLA, Chairman Vincent Bradley and Commissioner Kevin Kim at a regular meeting of the full board on Tuesday," the Post noted. "Effective immediately, no alcohol can be served or consumed on the premises." Dahlia's was hit with 55 violations that include sales to minors, failure to supervise, and having locked doors. Despite all this, the restaurant has been permitted to stay open—for now.
Former underage patrons of the bar weren't shocked by the bust: "I think I was fifteen the first time I went to Dahlia’s. The only reason anyone went there was because they served underage," Abbey, 20, told Gothamist. "I’m not surprised at all it got busted, honestly I’m surprised it took them so long."
"The fact that they’re only going to be serving food now doesn’t bode well, because the food was pretty awful. I won’t be surprised if Dahlia’s shuts down entirely soon," she added.
Emma, 20, another former patron of Dahlia's, was only surprised it had taken this long for the SLA to catch on: "I know people who have been going there for years. If you go on a Saturday night there is usually a horde of teenagers standing outside waiting to get in," she said.
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Scott Heins
Scott Heins is a freelance photo and video journalist based in New York City, and a frequent contributor to Gothamist + WNYC. His work often centers around labor rights, housing, and policing. In 2018-2019 he traveled to four states while covering a wave of public school teachers strikes, with work featured in The New York Times, The Intercept, Getty Images, Splinter, and Bloomberg Photos. Scott is a dues-paying member of the National Writers Union's Freelance Solidarity Project.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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