Tougher standards follow raids in the Grove

Coconut Grove’s Boardwalk Tavern and Barracuda Raw Bar and Grill were raided last Friday. Both licensees were issued an official notice for selling or giving alcohol to persons under the age of 21, according to Kitrina Dean of the Office of Communication in the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

The Miami-Dade Police Department arrested six people within Boardwalk and two outside the premises. The people arrested outside were ticketed for underage possession.

The amount of people arrested at Barracuda was unavailable, but some people were arrested on charges related to fighting. Undercover officers from the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco had intended to enter the building but could not because of crowds and a fight.

To apologize for the inconvenience, Greg DeBolt, the general manager at Boardwalk, said he will take one dollar off pizza purchases for any University of Miami student that presents their valid identification showing they are 21. This deal will last until the end of the school year.

Tougher Standards

Underage college students will now find it harder to enter bars in Coconut Grove.

DeBolt says that they plan to use a card swiper at the door to make sure identification cards are valid. He also plans on hiring a company called Responsible Venders to teach his employees how to detect fake identifications.

Tavern is also increasing their emphasis on preventing underage drinking in their bar. Pedro Quiros, the general manager at Tavern, asks anyone with an identification card that has a “real” or “authentic” hologram to realize their identification will not work.

“Any ID that says ‘authentic’ or ‘real’ is a dead giveaway that it’s a fake. No state uses that as a hologram,” he said.