La Plata, MD – Riverboat on the Potomac is located in Colonial Beach, VA. The business, which features food, drink, entertainment and off-track betting on horse races, has 49 employees, making it the largest employer in the town. But it sticks out in the Potomac River, which is Maryland’s jurisdiction.
So when a waitress served up a Bud Light to an underage Charles County alcohol enforcement officer doing a compliance check earlier this year, the restaurant ended up before the Charles County Board of License Commissioners [Liquor Board] Thursday, May 11.
Penny Flanagan, who has been at the establishment since 1992, told liquor board members that she did not fire the employee, Laura Riley, for the infraction.
“You have to think about it your employee has been with you for 10 years,” Flanagan said. “She is a very good employee. It’s an honest mistake she made. She has been re-certified since then,” she added.
“I think it’s interesting,” Attorney Hammad S. Matin told the board. “Ms. Riley indicated she does check IDs, they just don’t take vertical IDs from Maryland, but the establishment does take vertical IDs from Virginia under management approval.”
“I made a mistake,” Riley explained. “I take full responsibility for it.”
“Is this your first offense?” Liquor Board Member Thomasina Coates asked.
“I card every single person that comes in there,” she said.
Master Cpl. Judith Thompson told board members that when Riley was questioned the day of the incident, April 6, she became flushed and admitted her mistake. Matin admitted the restaurant had prior incidents, but the last one was in 2014, more than two years ago. “This is someone that’s trying,” he said. “Mr. [Claude H.] Humbert [license holder] is a fixture of the local county. This is not something intended to be a pattern. They take this situation seriously.”
Coates suggested a $750 fine with three days held in abeyance for the infraction. She came down a little harder on the server, however, than the board usually does.
“You’ve been there 10 years,” she said, imposing a $150 fine. “We expect a little more from you.”
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com
