Selectmen Slap Soul of India with Liquor License Warning

For the fourth time this year the Sudbury Board of Selectmen had to vote on how to punish a local establishment after it violated its liquor license.

At the request of Police Chief Scott Nix, the Board unanimously decided to give Soul of India a warning after two underage customers who were working as part of a sting were served beer on Sept. 13.

"This is very embarrsing for me to be here," said Manager Dariusz Zywina. "We were notifed (a sting) would happen. I don’t thing (the violation) happened because we took it lightly. I understand this is a serious matter."

Since first becoming the interim chief earlier this year and then the permanent chief, Nix has said the department would be more active in these type of compliance checks.

"Our intent is not to embarrass anyone," he said. "This is an educational reminder. We're not here to malign or embarrass anyone, but rather hold people accountable."

Soul of India opened on Boston Post Road on Jan. 20 and passed a compliance check in February. They were notified that during the check it's license and other documents were not prominently visible at the time.

"They were in storage," said Zywina, who added the the actual license didn't arrive until two months after they opened. "It was an honest mistake."

Since the Sept. 13 violation, Zywina said he had all employees sign a notice that they will check IDs if the customer looks younger than 35, won't serve anyone without a valid state ID or passport, and won't serve anyone younger than 21.

The bartender who served the beers without asking for ID has since been fired, Zywina said.

"We certainly can not turn our backs on violations," Selectman Len Simon said. "Having a liquor license is a privilege. I hope this proves to be a powerful warning."