Bar agrees to 1-month shutdown

Patrons of Rick's American Cafe in East Lansing will have to find a new nightspot from Feb. 7 to March 9 due to a temporary suspension of the establishment's liquor license and the resulting closing of the bar.

The suspension comes in response to alcohol related charges that were filed against the bar after the death of Brad McCue, a Michigan State University junior. McCue visited Rick's of East Lansing on the night of his 21st birthday, consumed 24 shots in less than two hours and died later of alcohol poisoning.

Rick's of East Lansing negotiated a settlement that reduced the original penalty of a 90-day suspension to a 30-day period along with a $50,000 fine. An added provision will automatically enforce an additional 60-day suspension if the bar violates alcohol laws within the next year.

The agreement also requires all employees to be retrained on how to recognize intoxicated customers, when to limit customers' drinking and what the responsibilities of a server of alcohol are, said Rick's of East Lansing attorney John Doyle.

Doyle said one employee per shift will be assigned to monitor patrons and keep an eye open for possible problems, such as someone having too much to drink and attempting to drive home.

The original four charges against the bar included selling, servicing or furnishing alcohol to someone who is visibly intoxicated, allowing that person to consume alcohol, allowing that person to frequent or loiter in the establishment and giving away alcoholic liquor.

Rick's of East Lansing's decision not to challenge the charges in a hearing was made for the sake of McCue's family, Doyle said.

"Sympathies and condolences go out to Brad McCue's family," Doyle said. "Everyone is just devastated by what happened."

Doyle also said Rick's of East Lansing feels the penalties being imposed are fair and is ready to do whatever it can to curb underage and excessive drinking on its premises.

"Rick's can be a model operation," he said.

The Ann Arbor location of Rick's American Cafe will not be legally affected by the penalties against the East Lansing location because the two are licensed separately by the Liquor Control Commission. But it would be wrong to assume Rick's of Ann Arbor has not examined the way they handle the issue, Doyle said.

"I don't think they can help but be more aware of what has happened," he said. "I wouldn't be surprised if some of it carried over."

A spokesperson for Rick's of Ann Arbor could not be reached for comment.

LSA senior Alex Radito said he celebrated his 21st birthday recently at Rick's of Ann Arbor and noticed that employees exhibited heightened concern about his drinking.

"I don't know if it had anything to do with the incident in East Lansing, but the employees kept tabs on me," Radito said.

Radito said he was not offended by the watchful eye of the employees.

"We should be able to make a judgment about how much we can drink, but there is a time and a place for a manager to step in and say, 'you know what? This person's had too much'," he said.

MSU junior Sara Hollander said she doesn't think Rick's of East Lansing should bear fault in the death of McCue.

"Honestly, I don't know how responsible Rick's should be for the whole thing," Hollander said. "There's no way they'd be able to control how many drinks this one guy had."

Hollander said she does understand the need for stricter regulations of drinking at the bar.

"Somebody's going to have to control it," she said. "I guess it's necessary."

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