Support Dominick's

Restaurant is unjustly punished

Dominick's, a popular restaurant and bar near the Law Quad, cannot serve alcohol until Sept. 23 due to a 1994 offense. Five years ago, a 21-year-old purchased alcohol and gave it to a 20-year-old friend. This event resulted in a costly legal struggle and may cost the establishment more than $20,000 in potential revenue during the 15-day suspension of its liquor license.

The restaurant is paying for the consequences of violating a ridiculous law that punishes businesses where minors drink, even if the beverage has been purchased legally by an "adult." Dominick's will also face increasingly severe punishments if this occurs again. Its five-year battle to avoid paying for the actions of one customer has wrought only a delay in the application of the sentence and thousands of dollars in legal fees.

Clearly, Dominick's is being punished for an offense the managers could not have prevented. No restaurant can police all its customers to make sure a minor does not take a sip of someone else's alcoholic beverage. This restaurant also sells food and cannot card every customer.

Worse, Dominick's stands to lose money during its peak season. The largely outdoor restaurant closes for the winter and cannot make up the losses it incurs now at a later date in the year. Instead, this valuable member of the University community will pay for the heavy enforcement of alcohol-related laws in the Ann Arbor area.

More recently, Ann Arbor has been the site of witch hunts for businesses that serve alcohol to minors. Since last fall's death of University first-year student Courtney Cantor - who had alcohol in her system when she fell out of her residence hall window - the Ann Arbor Police Department has stepped up its enforcement of the state's antiquated 21-plus liquor law. Fraternities and bars have been the subjects of sting operations, the amount of students being prosecuted for minor in possession tickets has increased dramatically.

We support reducing the legal drinking age to 18. An 18-year-old can vote, drive, purchase a gun and even be drafted, so why should not they be allowed to drink? The current legal drinking age does not deter University students or anyone else over the age of 18 from consuming alcohol. This law should be changed.

Students should continue to support Dominick's during the alcohol ban. No business should be victimized because of the actions of its customers, and Dominick's is no exception. It stands to lose thousands of dollars due to the overzealous nature of the Ann Arbor Police Department. This is certainly far from just. Dominick's deserves your business, regardless of whether it can serve alcohol.

09-16-99