Littleton licensing panel approves stipulation for Angelo's Taverna after owner agrees to fine and operational changes

The Littleton City Licensing Commission on Nov. 12 approved a stipulation resolving a preliminary hearing against Angelo's Taverna and Carboy Winery, allowing the licensee to pay a fine rather than serve the full suspension proposed by staff.

City prosecutor (staff) told the commission that staff "propose a 6 day suspension of licensee's liquor license with 3 days of actual suspension and 3 days held in abeyance for 1 year." The prosecutor also said the licensee "decided to pay a fine in lieu of the actual suspension as well," with the suspension dates listed as "Friday, July 18 through July 20, which is a Sunday inclusive." When asked about the fine total, staff said it "would max out at the 5,000 is what he believes." The commission approved the stipulation by voice vote; the chair recorded "4 in favor of the motion carries."

Craig Jones, who identified himself as the owner and was sworn in to testify, described the incident under review and outlined steps the business will take to avoid a recurrence. Jones said staff and management "went to 2 of our, owner operators, Jason Hader and Robert Davis" for guidance the night of the incident, and that the patrons involved said they were taking an Uber. "If somebody's wasted I mean, the different what's the difference between intoxicated and wasted?" Jones said, adding that the episode had prompted a change in internal practice: "we're gonna definitely do a better job" on staff training and enforcement.

Commissioners pressed for specifics about how the restaurant will change operations. Jones said the business will require additional staff training, re-certify servers on TIPS (alcohol-server training) and direct managers to be stricter about serving regardless of whether a patron has a ride home. "Staff training and then recertifying people on tips training and then notifying the managers of our new rules" was how he summarized the steps taken.

The commission also noted an inconsistency between the printed Littleton licensing authority guidelines in the meeting packet and the stipulation before them. One commissioner pointed out the packet's guideline that a first offense for service to a visibly intoxicated person carries "10 business days suspension and then 5 days held in abeyance," and asked why the stipulation was for six days. City staff responded that the packet contains older guidance and that the stipulation reflects what the city has proposed in similar prior cases.

City staff identified and corrected a typographical error in paragraph 5(d) of the stipulation. Staff read into the record that the sentence saying "the 5 day suspension shall be permanently stayed" should instead read "the 3 day suspension shall be permanently stayed," and Jones agreed to that correction on the record.

As part of the approval, the commission vacated the previously scheduled show-cause hearing for Dec. 10. City staff said there will be no licensing meeting in December and the commission adjourned at 6:54 p.m.

The stipulation as described leaves a mixture of sanctions and requirements in place: a three-day actual suspension backed by three days held in abeyance for a year, a fine in lieu of serving the suspension (staff estimated it could be up to $5,000), and a record of the licensee's commitment to increased training and enforcement. The commission did not take any additional enforcement actions at the meeting, and did not announce follow-up reporting dates for staff to return with compliance verification.