Ohio State will have one fewer bar on High Street, as the Ohio Liquor Control Commission suspended and then revoked the liquor license of Notal’s Too for underage liquor sale violations on March 20.
The bar, located at 1880 N. High St., appeared before the commission earlier that day for two separate citations for underage liquor sale from Sept. 8, said Mark Anderson, executive director of Ohio Liquor Control Commission. The citations were obtained, in part, by Stop Teenage Opportunities to Purchase, or STOP Task Force.
“The first one was an observation by our STOP informant and led to the 30-day suspension,” Anderson said. “The second one was a STOP case.”
The penalties will be served consecutively with the suspension starting April 17, said Anderson. The second citation resulted in the commission revoking Notal’s Too’s permit that begins May 17.
The first citation occurred at 6 p.m. when a bartender, Robert Weissman sold alcohol to OSU student, Jamie Loman, 20, without checking her I.D.
Loman purchased four beers for herself and female friends – who were ages 17, 19 and 20 – said Julie Ehrhart, spokeswoman for Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Investigative Unit.
All four were cited for possessing beer while underage, and Loman was also cited for purchasing beer while under 21.
The bar was then cited at 6:05 p.m. after a 19-year-old STOP informant purchased a beer from Weissman, Ehrhart said.
“The STOP Program is a task force between ODPS, Columbus police and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department,” Ehrhart said. The union works to combat underage liquor sales.
The bar was also cited in June 2000, but the commission dismissed the case, Ehrhart said.
“When you see their history, you understand why we revoked it,” said Erika Sowry, who also serves on the commission.
The bar was cited and convicted for underage sales in March 2000 and paid a $16,000 fine. It had another underage sales violation on Nov. 20, 1998 which resulted in a $500 fine and received an $800 fine for allowing minors to consume violation on June 1, 2000.
The revocation prevents Notal’s IV, Inc., the corporation that owns Notal’s Too, from obtaining a liquor permit for a year, Anderson said. It also prohibits another company from bringing a license to the building.
Notal’s Too manager, Paul Herder, as well as the bar’s owners, refused to comment.
