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Falmouth board finds underage drinking at Pier 37, fines both downtown venues and mandates safety steps
Summary
After hearing police testimony and evidence, the Select Board found Pier 37 Boathouse responsible for underage drinking and imposed a $500 fine plus required advanced staff training, quarterly meetings with police and a security-improvement plan; the Ra Bar was found to have an underage-drinking violation but insufficient evidence for service-to-intoxicated-person and received similar conditions.
The Town of Falmouth Select Board on July 13 found that the Pier 37 Boathouse had an incident of underage drinking and voted a penalty package that includes a $500 fine, mandatory advanced staff training and a comprehensive security and improvement plan to be submitted to the Falmouth Police Chief within 14 days.
The finding followed testimony from Detective Maguire of the Falmouth Police Department, who described a June 5 joint ABCC–police operation in which officers encountered a young man whose identification was determined to be false and who was observed with an alcoholic beverage; police confirmed the patron was underage and escorted him from the property, Detective Maguire said. "I personally observed a party that appeared underage consuming an alcoholic beverage," he told the board.
Pier 37’s representative, Connor McLaughlin, told the board the business has taken steps since the incident, including adding eight new cameras (bringing the total on the property to 62), buying three new ID scanners ($5,171.97) and changing operational practices such as limiting sale of shots late at night and offering more food options to slow drinking. "The Boathouse is committed to creating a safe and family-friendly environment," McLaughlin said.
Board members credited those measures as mitigating but nonetheless voted to make a formal finding of an underage-drinking violation. Chair Goldstone said the evidence presented by Detective Maguire met the statutory "substantial evidence" standard required for an enforcement finding under the town's licensing guidelines.
The board put the Boathouse on a conditional penalty path: a written finding of violation; a $500 fine; mandatory advanced training for all staff on fake-ID recognition, intoxication identification, de‑escalation and crowd control; quarterly meetings with the Falmouth Police Department for one year; and a security-improvement plan with a date certain and PD verification.
The Ra Bar (Raw Bar) was the subject of a separate hearing about incidents on May 29 and June 5. Detective Maguire described two episodes involving patrons later determined to be underage or heavily intoxicated; one underage patron said he had consumed three beers at the Ra Bar and a subsequent portable breath test the following morning measured a BAC well over the legal limit. The board found sufficient evidence to conclude an underage-drinking violation occurred at the Ra Bar, based in part on the patron’s admission and police follow-up. However, the board concluded there was insufficient credible evidence to sustain an allegation that staff knowingly served a clearly intoxicated person on May 29 and therefore declined to make that second finding.
Ra Bar counsel and manager said the business has implemented a suite of improvements: new recorded camera retention, additional lighting, raised landscaping that improves sightlines, fence improvements with alarms, added security personnel and upgraded staff communication systems. Manager Mike Ricciardi described new standard operating procedures and security investments. The board adopted a similar sanctions package as with the Boathouse: a written warning, a $500 fine, required training and quarterly meetings with police, citing substantial mitigating steps taken by the licensee.
Chief Lohrey and police representatives told the board that recent meetings between police and both licensees were "very productive" and reported improved operations over the July 4 weekend. The Select Board emphasized its authority to attach conditions to licenses to protect public safety even where criminal statutes are not proven.
The board closed both hearings and said it will monitor compliance with the conditions. The decisions are administrative licensing actions under the town’s authority; separate ABCC (state) investigations may proceed independently.
The Select Board instructed staff to incorporate the findings and conditions into written decisions and to require receipts/documentation (for example, proof of purchase of ID scanners) where relevant.
What’s next: The board will review the licensees’ required security plans and training documentation and hold the licensees to quarterly reporting with the Police Department for one year.
