BY REBECCA BENNETT — On June 10, the Prince George’s County Board of License Commissioners (liquor board) fined Hyattsville’s Pike El Chalateco $2,000 for allegedly serving alcohol long after last call.
A liquor inspector alleged the Tex Mex/Latin restaurant, which was supposed to close at 2 a.m, was still open at 3:15 a.m. on March 29. This while patrons had substantially full drinks, the inspector said, who took a glass of Guinness as evidence. The manager said eight or nine people were in the restaurant while the liquor inspector said he noted well over 15 people.
The inspector said a special entertainment permit was not posted in the restaurant, and the liquor board said the board denied a recent request to serve food until 4:30 or 5 a.m.
The manager of the restaurant on duty at the time said the seated customers were waiting for soup from the kitchen and that the bar was closed.
“That doesn’t sound logical to me,” Commissioner Earl J. Howard said. “It was too late, I don’t buy that.”
The manager said the bottles the inspector noted on the bar were actually waiting to be taken to the trash.
“You should really stop selling at [1:45 a.m.] and have everyone out by 2 a.m.,” Chairman Charles Caldwell said.
The liquor board fined Pike El Chalateco $2,000 for the incident. The son of license holder Carmen Gutierrez apologized to the liquor board and said the establishment would abide by the law.
According to the liquor board, the same establishment was fined $3,500 in Feb. 2013 after being cited for sub-leasing the establishment, charging a cover without a special entertainment permit and purchasing alcohol from an unlicensed manufacturer/wholesaler.
