The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control suspends KetMoRee Thai restaurant and bar liquor license
On Feb. 25, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) declared a 30-day liquor license suspension upon the KetMoRee Thai Restaurant and Bar located on 238 G St. in the City of Davis.
KetMoRee is prohibited from selling or serving alcoholic beverages to patrons for 30 days. If the establishment fulfills the 30-day suspension without any penalties, they will move into a two-year probation period, during which the bar and restaurant will be watched closely for disruptive behavior.
ABC filed an accusation against KetMoRee for operating as a “disorderly house,” a term used by the California Business and Professions code. This violates the ABC Act, requiring excessive police services in one location due to alcohol-related incidences.
“Davis police has responded to KetMoRee over 24 times in a two-year period for issues such as public drunkenness, fights, assaults and a tragic fatal stabbing in September 2015,” said John Carr, an information officer for ABC. “They are expected to be compliant with the law and hire security guards to help keep things orderly at the premises. If they are compliant with the law, there will be no problems.”
According to Darren Pytel, assistant police chief for the City of Davis, if a homicide occurs inside of a licensed establishment, ABC will look into the licensed establishment and request local agencies to report all calls for service regarding the establishment. ABC then takes action as necessary.
Pytel explains that, since 2010, there have been 196 incidents at the KetMoRee Bar that police have responded to. However, prior to the KetMoRee liquor license suspension, the Davis City Council began developing an ordinance to control violent and disorderly conduct at Davis bars.
“The Davis City Council has directed city staff to draft an ordinance and the ordinance will deal with requiring entertainment permits for certain defined establishments, businesses and venues,” Pytel said. “Through entertainment permitting, consistence can be placed on business activities.”
Dessere Givertz, a fourth-year human development major at UC Davis, explains that she has been to KetMoRee bar a few times and has experienced a more strict security staff than any of the other bars in Downtown Davis. However, she has still had negative experiences with customers who go to the bar.
“I have mixed feelings about [the KetMoRee license suspension], because whenever I’ve gone to KetMoRee, the management has been really strict about checking your bags and making sure you don’t have a fake ID, but at the same time I’m not sure if the bar is accountable for who frequents it, because it’s definitely one of the bars that has the most fights and problems in Davis,” Givertz said.
Written by: SHIREEN AFKARI – city@theaggie.org
