News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Hardtails Bar and Grill owner Steve Macey met with City Manager Andrew Gorayeb and Deschutes County Sheriff's Office Captain Erik Utter on Thursday to move past issues surrounding the operation of the bar in Sisters.
Both Macey and Gorayeb told The Nugget that the meeting went well.
Macey provided The Nugget with documents from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) that clarified incidents compiled in a sheriff's office letter to the city recommending that Hardtails' liquor license not be renewed.
The documentation revealed that an incident where a 20-year-old was allegedly served was something other than what it initially appeared to be. OLCC contacted the 20-year-old, who acknowledged that he snuck through a gap in a fence on locals night during the 2012 rodeo and a patron bought him a drink. The 20-year-old never approached a server or security.
"The mayor said we serve minors (in a statement at a city council meeting) and we don't serve minors," Macey told The Nugget.
Another OLCC compliance action report indicated that staff appropriately cut off a patron who was visibly intoxicated. Staff "explained that she cut off a patron after noticing he was visibly intoxicated when he got up from his chair to go to the restroom. The patron had not shown any signs of intoxication prior to this episode. Upon leaving the bar, the patron fell down and was contacted by police who were driving by the premises at the time."
Macey told The Nugget that "it's not illegal for somebody to be drunk in a bar"- it is a violation to serve a person in that condition. He indicated concern that his establishment not be blamed for the actions of people who show up already intoxicated, especially during rodeo.
The sheriff's office report detailed several incidents, but OLCC had not provided any follow-up information to the sheriff's office. Both Macey and Gorayeb told The Nugget that the meeting aired concerns and the city and the business will move forward.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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