ATC Votes To Deny Barbee Landing Liquor License
January 8, 2021 at 12:09 a.m.
ATC Votes To Deny Barbee Landing Liquor License
By Amanda Bridgman-
The case has been on the board’s docket for months as Barbee Landing owner Joel Stein settled violations charged against his business.
The Barbee Landing, 3687 N. Barbee Road, Warsaw, was hit with several violations after Ty Brown, a 20-year-old visiting the area for Labor Day weekend, was served alcohol at the establishment, left on foot and was then found dead alongside McKenna Road at 4:50 a.m. Sept. 2, 2019.
A police investigation determined that Brown had left Barbee Landing on foot that evening and ruled his death as accidental, saying Brown fell and hit his head, causing bleeding on the brain. Toxicology results showed alcohol in Brown’s system, with his BAC at 0.21. Brown was from Indianapolis and a junior at Butler University.
The violations included allowing a minor to loiter, sale of an alcoholic beverage to a minor, sale of an alcoholic beverage to an intoxicated person, premise and employees failing to maintain a high and fine reputation, and public nuisance.
Stein said an agreement with state prosecutors resulted in the sale to an intoxicated person to be thrown out and that the business was never in fact charged with the public nuisance violation.
Kosciusko County excise officer April Tackett confirmed the Barbee Landing is facing the other violations, however.
“On Labor Day weekend of 2019, approximately 16 months ago, a young man named Ty Brown ... came to my establishment and presented a West Virginia driver’s license indicating he was 25 years old, so he was then permitted into the establishment and served alcoholic beverages,” Stein said at Thursday’s meeting. “We were fined $1,000 and required to suspend our license for five days. We have done those things.”
Eight people, who were either relatives or friends of Brown’s, voiced their opposition to the bar’s permit renewal Thursday. One of those people was Brown’s mother, Jennifer Beadles.
“No time while Brown was on the premises was his identification shown,” she said. “(The excise report) states not one time while Ty was in the premise was his identification checked. ... Throughout this excise report you can see that Ty Brown is definitely intoxicated. Brown’s head dropped so low onto the bar that he almost hit his head, this happened several times. ... He swayed and then he laid his head down on the bar.”
Brown’s mother went on to say that Stein’s son, Jack, who was the manager that night, not only allowed Brown to continue to be served but he and the bartender on duty held conversations with Brown while he was obviously intoxicated.
“I do not understand why there would be a question about giving this establishment (the option) to renew their license,” Beadles said. “My son paid the ultimate price. He died. ... He was laying on the side of the road dead for almost two hours before someone found him alone, and what did this bar, what was their contribution? They served him. Their consequence was a thousand dollars and five days. I don’t think that equates to justice at all.”
Stein said his bartender said she did ID Brown that night and that just because the videotape from that night doesn’t show that, it’s because the video cameras “don’t cover every square inch of the Barbee Landing, so we couldn’t prove that she asked for an identification, therefore we agreed to plead guilty to the charge and furnishing to a minor.”
“I would’ve thought your response would have been, Ms. Beadles, I’m very sorry for your loss,” Beadles said in return.
“I am sorry for your loss, but that doesn’t mean I caused it,” Stein said, adding that the Barbee Landing has been in operation for 40 years on the lake. “This was our 11th summer of operating the Barbee Landing. This is a very unusual event, very tragic event, it is not something to suggest that because this happened we are some sort of establishment like the last remonstrator described. We don’t have people in and out with fake IDs. ... That is not the situation. ... Unfortunately, he presented an ID that my bartender thought was legitimate.”
Several of Brown’s family members said the fake ID Brown had in his possession did not look like Brown or fit his body description.
“That ID might have been able to pass for a bloody kid on the side of the road, but it didn’t pass for my son while he was alive,” Beadles said.
Chris Cassell said he’s a friend of the family and cited other county establishments that got renewals approved with no violations in December.
“Seems to me that if I were part of the restaurant community minding the rules, it wouldn’t be fair to have an establishment like this, that has so many violations against them, to continue with the permit when my bar, my restaurant is abiding by the rules,” Cassell said. “What the ultimate result was, a dead young man after leaving your establishment, out of his mind drunk with an identification found on him that looked nothing like him. Seems to me that a kid could pull a picture out of a picture frame and use that as valid identification in your establishment, so I strongly oppose the renewal of your permit.”
All of Brown’s supporters acknowledged that Brown made a poor choice to lie and be in a bar that night, but they contend his death could have been avoided had he not been served and overserved at the Barbee Landing.
Board member Alan Alderfer made a motion to deny Barbee Landing’s renewal, with board member Elim Smith seconding and a unanimous vote from Tackett to deny. Board member Dan Woods abstained from voting.
The next step will be for ATC commissioners in Indianapolis to review the recommendation from Kosciusko County to deny the renewal. Those commissioners meet Jan. 19 and can choose to either stick with the denial, remand the case back to the local board or they can overturn it and approve it. That decision will not be final, as an appeals process is available, Tackett said.
Until then, Barbee Landing is operating business as usual until a final decision is made.
Also Thursday, the board approved a beer, wine and liquor restaurant permit renewal for Warsaw Bowl, 1702 E. Market St.; and a new application for a beer, wine and liquor riverfront permit for La Pasadita of Warsaw, a restaurant at 1303 N. Detroit St., Warsaw.
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The case has been on the board’s docket for months as Barbee Landing owner Joel Stein settled violations charged against his business.
The Barbee Landing, 3687 N. Barbee Road, Warsaw, was hit with several violations after Ty Brown, a 20-year-old visiting the area for Labor Day weekend, was served alcohol at the establishment, left on foot and was then found dead alongside McKenna Road at 4:50 a.m. Sept. 2, 2019.
A police investigation determined that Brown had left Barbee Landing on foot that evening and ruled his death as accidental, saying Brown fell and hit his head, causing bleeding on the brain. Toxicology results showed alcohol in Brown’s system, with his BAC at 0.21. Brown was from Indianapolis and a junior at Butler University.
The violations included allowing a minor to loiter, sale of an alcoholic beverage to a minor, sale of an alcoholic beverage to an intoxicated person, premise and employees failing to maintain a high and fine reputation, and public nuisance.
Stein said an agreement with state prosecutors resulted in the sale to an intoxicated person to be thrown out and that the business was never in fact charged with the public nuisance violation.
Kosciusko County excise officer April Tackett confirmed the Barbee Landing is facing the other violations, however.
“On Labor Day weekend of 2019, approximately 16 months ago, a young man named Ty Brown ... came to my establishment and presented a West Virginia driver’s license indicating he was 25 years old, so he was then permitted into the establishment and served alcoholic beverages,” Stein said at Thursday’s meeting. “We were fined $1,000 and required to suspend our license for five days. We have done those things.”
Eight people, who were either relatives or friends of Brown’s, voiced their opposition to the bar’s permit renewal Thursday. One of those people was Brown’s mother, Jennifer Beadles.
“No time while Brown was on the premises was his identification shown,” she said. “(The excise report) states not one time while Ty was in the premise was his identification checked. ... Throughout this excise report you can see that Ty Brown is definitely intoxicated. Brown’s head dropped so low onto the bar that he almost hit his head, this happened several times. ... He swayed and then he laid his head down on the bar.”
Brown’s mother went on to say that Stein’s son, Jack, who was the manager that night, not only allowed Brown to continue to be served but he and the bartender on duty held conversations with Brown while he was obviously intoxicated.
“I do not understand why there would be a question about giving this establishment (the option) to renew their license,” Beadles said. “My son paid the ultimate price. He died. ... He was laying on the side of the road dead for almost two hours before someone found him alone, and what did this bar, what was their contribution? They served him. Their consequence was a thousand dollars and five days. I don’t think that equates to justice at all.”
Stein said his bartender said she did ID Brown that night and that just because the videotape from that night doesn’t show that, it’s because the video cameras “don’t cover every square inch of the Barbee Landing, so we couldn’t prove that she asked for an identification, therefore we agreed to plead guilty to the charge and furnishing to a minor.”
“I would’ve thought your response would have been, Ms. Beadles, I’m very sorry for your loss,” Beadles said in return.
“I am sorry for your loss, but that doesn’t mean I caused it,” Stein said, adding that the Barbee Landing has been in operation for 40 years on the lake. “This was our 11th summer of operating the Barbee Landing. This is a very unusual event, very tragic event, it is not something to suggest that because this happened we are some sort of establishment like the last remonstrator described. We don’t have people in and out with fake IDs. ... That is not the situation. ... Unfortunately, he presented an ID that my bartender thought was legitimate.”
Several of Brown’s family members said the fake ID Brown had in his possession did not look like Brown or fit his body description.
“That ID might have been able to pass for a bloody kid on the side of the road, but it didn’t pass for my son while he was alive,” Beadles said.
Chris Cassell said he’s a friend of the family and cited other county establishments that got renewals approved with no violations in December.
“Seems to me that if I were part of the restaurant community minding the rules, it wouldn’t be fair to have an establishment like this, that has so many violations against them, to continue with the permit when my bar, my restaurant is abiding by the rules,” Cassell said. “What the ultimate result was, a dead young man after leaving your establishment, out of his mind drunk with an identification found on him that looked nothing like him. Seems to me that a kid could pull a picture out of a picture frame and use that as valid identification in your establishment, so I strongly oppose the renewal of your permit.”
All of Brown’s supporters acknowledged that Brown made a poor choice to lie and be in a bar that night, but they contend his death could have been avoided had he not been served and overserved at the Barbee Landing.
Board member Alan Alderfer made a motion to deny Barbee Landing’s renewal, with board member Elim Smith seconding and a unanimous vote from Tackett to deny. Board member Dan Woods abstained from voting.
The next step will be for ATC commissioners in Indianapolis to review the recommendation from Kosciusko County to deny the renewal. Those commissioners meet Jan. 19 and can choose to either stick with the denial, remand the case back to the local board or they can overturn it and approve it. That decision will not be final, as an appeals process is available, Tackett said.
Until then, Barbee Landing is operating business as usual until a final decision is made.
Also Thursday, the board approved a beer, wine and liquor restaurant permit renewal for Warsaw Bowl, 1702 E. Market St.; and a new application for a beer, wine and liquor riverfront permit for La Pasadita of Warsaw, a restaurant at 1303 N. Detroit St., Warsaw.
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