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A restaurant at Auckland's Viaduct Harbour has had its liquor licence suspended after police caught staff serving alcohol to underage drinkers.
The Liquor Licensing Authority stopped Mexicali Fresh selling alcohol for three weeks and stripped co-owner Tyler Kerlin of his manager's certificate for five months. Both bans came
into force last Monday.
Two plainclothes officers visited the Princes Wharf restaurant early one Sunday in July last year.
They bought two beers at 3.07am and two more at 3.26am. Liquor sales should have ended at 3am.
They said no food was being served, a large number of women were drunk and there were physical altercations between male patrons.
Undercover police returned a week later with two underage teens. The doorman asked for ID but let them in when they said they had forgotten it.
Constable Rashpal Singh's report said he again bought alcohol when sales should have stopped, and watched "extremely intoxicated" patrons on the overcrowded dance floor yelling obscenities and intimidating other guests.
Kerlin was confronted by police about the level of intoxication, lack of food and selling alcohol outside the hours stated on the on-licence.
He said Mexicali had applied for a 24-hour licence but later admitted the breaches.
Singh told the Herald on Sunday Mexicali was promoting itself as a restaurant but was operating more like a nightclub, with a focus on hip-hop culture.
"There was no food out as a restaurant should have. Hopefully, we've made an example of these guys and we can nip a few more in the bud."
The Herald on Sunday contacted Mexicali and was told Tyler and co-owner Connor Kerlin were in the United States for a family wedding.
The Mexicali website says the Princes Wharf premises is closed for three weeks during renovations.
Figures obtained by the Herald on Sunday show 35 bar managers in the Auckland region had their certificates suspended in the past financial year for selling to minors, serving intoxicated customers or being convicted of drink-driving or assault.
In that same period, more than 50 premises lost on or off-licences for similar reasons. The crackdown is spearheaded by the liquor licensing unit, a specialist police team formed 18 months ago.
Its leader, Sergeant Bryce Law, says it works closely with local authorities and the Auckland Regional Public Health Service to monitor licensed premises and managers. Teenagers are used in undercover stings and one inner city liquor store was caught selling to a 13-year-old.
They also run the ACC-funded Alco-Link survey, which pinpoints where culprits bought their last drink.
"Our operations are based on intelligence gathering," Law said. "With the last drink survey, we are able to tie it back to the premises that can give us an indication of what we need to look into."
Law also co-wrote a police submission asking Auckland City Council to review 24-hour licensing in the CBD. Police wanted on-licensed premises to shut at 3am and off-licensed premises at 11pm to curb violent crime - recommendations rejected by Mayor John Banks who said it was not in keeping with an international city.
