THREE LIQUOR LICENSE SUSPENSIONS LIFTED

Three Cape Girardeau businesses are coming out from under liquor license suspensions just in time for Super Bowl weekend, while a fourth was saved by an appeal.

The suspensions, ranging between three to 10 days, have a bigger impact than many realize, said Kenny Pincksten, area supervisor for the state Division of Liquor Control.

"Do you know how much money they can lose if they can't sell alcohol even for a day or two?" Pincksten said. "Even with these gas stations it can run into thousands of dollars."

Two gas stations lost their liquor sales this week for selling alcohol to minors -- Rhodes 101 Stop at 1036 N. Sprigg St. and Sprigg Street Station at 40 N. Sprigg St. The suspensions were for five and three days, respectively.

Broussard's at 120 N. Main St. lost three days of alcohol sales for employing a person disqualified to sell liquor and failing to report it.

All of the suspensions went into effect last Monday.

Jeremiah's got a 10-day suspension for selling alcohol to a minor. But an appeal by the restaurant and bar at 127 N. Water St. to the state Liquor Control office has suspended the suspension until an administrative hearing is held, Pincksten said.

No hard rules exist to determine the length of a suspension, Pincksten said. State Liquor Control supervisor Hope Whitehead reviews charges case by case.

"She takes into consideration things like a prior history, the circumstances," he said. "Someone might just have been fooled by a good fake ID."

A 10-day suspension is usually given to serious or repeat offenders, he said.

Jeremiah's liquor license had been in question since last June after several assaults were not reported to police. The City Council decided to issue a six-month conditional license last summer instead of a one-year license.

In December, council members were confident enough that problems were solved to issue another six-month license.

Now Jeremiah's will be able to renew its license in June, just like all other alcohol-selling businesses, Police Capt. Steve Strong said.

The suspension of a business' liquor license usually starts with Liquor Control agents investigating a customer's complaint, Pincksten said.

"Most of the time it's someone serving kids," he said.

Agents will then go undercover and observe, looking for violations.

If a violation is spotted, the agents will file a written report.

"We don't just go in there and pull the license off the wall," Pincksten said. "There's due process of law."

Some convenience stores in the region are suspended regularly, but the violations are rarely conscious efforts to go around the law.

"Most of them are slip-ups," Pincksten said. "A convenience store clerk will get busy and someone slips through, or you've got a night club with 250 people and there's some kid in the back corner drinking."