Four Norwalk restaurants cited for liquor law violations

Our House received four violations for sale of alcohol to a minor. Our House received four violations for sale of alcohol to a minor. Photo: Alexander Soule / Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: Alexander Soule / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Four Norwalk restaurants cited for liquor law violations 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

NORWALK — Four city businesses may be in jeopardy of having their liquor licenses suspended.

World of Beverage (295 Main Ave.), Tropical Grocery (79 Cedar St.), Saltwater Restaurant & Bar (128 Washington St.) and Our House (110 Washington St.) all failed to comply with state liquor laws during a round compliance checks conducted last Friday, according to police.

Our House received the most citations with four violations for selling alcohol to a minor, while World of Beverage and Tropical Grocery were hit with only one count for the same violation.

Saltwater Restaurant & Bar, a downtown seafood restaurant, was written up for administrative liquor license issues.

Isaac Camoro, the owner of Our House, said his business is dedicated to keeping underage patrons out, but pointed out that constantly improving technology has made it harder than ever.

“We do everything possible to keep these kids out nowadays, but these fake IDs are getting harder and harder to catch,” he said.

Camoro complained businesses too often are left to suffer the consequences of serving underage drinkers, whereas the teens sneaking in with fake IDs are often let off with little to no consequences.

“If we don’t punish these kids, they’ll just keep doing it,” Camoro said.

The other three restaurants did not respond to requests for comment Monday afternoon.

All four businesses will now be referred to the Connecticut Liquor Control Commission, a three-member body charged with deciding on administrative action.

Businesses can take the violations to a formal hearing in front of the commission, or can enter a voluntary agreement to settle allegations without a finding of fault. Punishments for violations include fines, liquor license suspensions and, in the case of repeat offenders and serious offenses, license revocation.

Police investigated thirteen separate Norwalk establishments on Friday after receiving tips or complaints of “non-compliance with state laws,” according to Norwalk police spokesperson Lt. Jared Zwickler.

The other nine restaurants and bars investigated included In and Out Variety (178 Main Ave.), Springhill Liquor (1 Springhill Ave.), Market Bistro (64 Wall St.), VZ Sports Bar (40 Van Zant St.), Fusion (174 Main St.), Fiesta Mexico (21 Fort Point St.), Soho Bar (97 Washington St.), The Village (99 Washington St.) and El Tenampa (6 Commerce St.).

Three of these businesses, VZ Sports Bar, Fiesta Mexico and El Tenampa, have had their liquor licenses suspended for similar offenses over the past two years.

None of the three prior offenders were found to be noncompliant during the most recent investigation, however, Zwickler said.