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Wednesday, March 4, 2009

City Seattle Police Shut Down Speakeasy In Maple Leaf

Posted by on Wed, Mar 4, 2009 at 4:35 PM

Seattle Police have shut down an underground bar and blues club being run out of a house in Maple Leaf.

On February 28th, Police stopped by a house in the 7600 block of 5th ave NE after receiving reports about an unlicensed bar. According to a police report, officers found a group of about 25 men and women drinking. "The group was well behaved and none displayed signs of obvious intoxication," the report says.

Police contacted a 20-year-old man who was pouring drinks and asked him if he was running the operation for profit. The man told police he'd been running the bar for a few months with his roommates but was only doing it so he could practice his bartending skills.

"It wasn’t really about the money at all," says 20-year-old Nick. "People would donate their own liquor. Adults would bring their own liquor and I would make drinks."

Nick says he's been fascinated by bartending ever since he worked as a server at the Spaghetti Factory a few years ago and began pouring drinks at house parties in January, which often featured live blues bands or DJs spinning old blues albums on vinyl. It’s not something where I’m trying to get people wasted or get minors drunk," Nick says, adding that his specialty drink is the Bluesnick, a mixture of dark rum, pineapple, cranberry and grapefruit juices with a splash of 151.

Following the police bust, officers made Nick pour out 12 bottles of liquor but he says he hasn't received notification about any charges. "I’m an eagle scout, I’m not trying to do anything wrong," Nick says. "[The officers] said the court just might drop it, which is what I’m hoping for."

According to Washington State Liquor Control spokeswoman Anne Radford, the penalty for selling liquor without a license is $5,000 fine and/or a year in jail.

 

Comments (28) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment
1
Dammit, and I just got my flapper dress back from the cleaners...
Posted by Chris down in The Couv on March 4, 2009 at 4:38 PM
2
So has Herr Nickels now made having a party illegal?
Posted by elswinger on March 4, 2009 at 4:39 PM
3
"I’m not trying to do anything wrong."

Well, what you did WAS wrong, Nick. Very, very, very wrong.
Posted by Go away! 'Batin'! on March 4, 2009 at 4:40 PM
4
@3,

Yeah, a real criminal mastermind, that.

How this materially differs from all of those keg parties I used to throw is beyond me.

Posted by Mr. X on March 4, 2009 at 4:45 PM
5
...and, the "I'm an Eagle Scout" is no guarantor of moral rectitude. The Scouts are now firmly on the side of bigotry against our gay brothers. Perhaps he should renounce his Eagle award? That's likely more harmful than his bartending pursuits.
Posted by Timothy on March 4, 2009 at 4:46 PM
6
This story is rather vague, but it sounds like he wasn't selling the drinks at all, just pouring "donated" liquor for people. That's similar to how bars operate in dry parts of the country. I wonder what the tips were like?
Posted by kai on March 4, 2009 at 4:49 PM
7
"Not really about money at all" = "No pay me, no drinky"
Posted by duh on March 4, 2009 at 4:52 PM
8
Fuck the WSLCB. Stop hiding behind bad laws.
Anne Radford, Communications Consultant, 360-664-1604
Posted by Time for liquor reform in WA on March 4, 2009 at 4:53 PM
9
"a underground" ????

Why oh why do they keep you on staff
Posted by Keep Fapping on March 4, 2009 at 4:55 PM
10
The hypocritical part is all the libertarians who promise manna from heaven if only we'd legalize, tax, and regulate pot exactly like we do for alcohol. Yet when we do exactly that for alcohol, the same libertardians whine.
Posted by elenchos on March 4, 2009 at 4:57 PM
11
Now if they just fined them $5000 when they had MJ parties, that would be fine.
Posted by Will in Seattle on March 4, 2009 at 5:00 PM
12
hmm.. well, it does sound like a normal house party (or party house). people bring their own liquor, and people pay for drinks, too. while i don't believe the guy - the place probably functioned just like a bar - i'm not sure what makes it move up from house party to speakeasy in legal terms.
Posted by infrequent on March 4, 2009 at 5:00 PM
13
elenchos - was that post a preemptive strike? what libertarians are complaining here? and if they were, can't someone think that liquor "sales" should be taxed at some points (point of purchase) and not at others (house party)?
Posted by infrequent on March 4, 2009 at 5:02 PM
14
I'm lost as to the "speakeasy" nature of this venue if no money was involved. Sounds like a quiet (read: lame) house party. So the kid is 20. Whoop dee doo
Posted by Ain't no party like a maple leaf party on March 4, 2009 at 5:04 PM
15
Um. His roommates got annoyed that he was having a party and called the cops. That's the only thing that makes it different.
Posted by blues party attendee on March 4, 2009 at 5:06 PM
16
@5

yeah, the boy scout supreme leadership is rather bigoted. however, consider that the "boy scouts" as a whole is made up of many, many different people of many different types. one example: there was lots of hot-homo-action at camp.

i spent seven years in the scouts (all the way to eagle) and my troop, run by my admirable father and his just as admirable peers, was focused on teaching leadership skills and responsibility in the outdoors. there was no religious indoctrination of any sort. just backpacking and camping every month.

i hate the politics of the scouts and most boy scouts personally at least as much (probably way more) as all my friends, but keep in mind that many of those involved do a good job teaching young men how to be good people.

also, note that most eagle scouts i've known are total assholes.
Posted by emor on March 4, 2009 at 5:10 PM
17
There is no intersection of 76th and 5th Ave NE. Where is this underground?
Posted by MapleLeafer on March 4, 2009 at 6:11 PM
18
I'm friends with these guys. I've been there. Bring some booze or chip in. There will be dancing and socializing. This is NO speakeasy by ANY stretch of the imagination. We're talking about 10 drinks being sold to people who didn't bring booze. And when I forgot money and booze, a drink was poured up promptly. These are good kids, keeping a part of history (blues) alive out of love. If charges are pressed, its only because people don't understand what was going on at all.
Posted by Daniel Newsome on March 4, 2009 at 7:43 PM
19
Perhaps they termed it a speakeasy only because the music was reminiscent of the times. Also, because of the ludicrous involvement of police in something otherwise socially accepted. It was a house party, remarkable only for being well-behaved & not obnoxiously drunk.
Posted by Voice of Reason on March 4, 2009 at 9:12 PM
20
Come on, y'all, we got to jam
Before the po-lice come.
Posted by Amelia on March 4, 2009 at 9:28 PM
21
Nick is a close friend of mine, and I was at the party that night. His housemates John, Scott and Eric obviously had some kind of interpersonal problems centered around the party. They decided to resolve the conflict by passive aggressively bringing the cops in, instead of working out the problem face to face with Nick like real men.

Nick was taking tips by adults for the drinks he was serving, and was not raking in any kind of profit, especially since those adults owned the booze that was being served. Nick is a great guy, and despite some other ignorant comments, he really does exemplify the giving and honorable ideals of Scouting.
Posted by Blues Fan on March 4, 2009 at 9:48 PM
22
this is how the cops and the system ignore REAL crime - which - as we know can be very violent.

Ask a cop, busting a house party is a better gig ...

Not news as well ...

Used to have a big house, great sound system, and giant house parties every other week ... and three bedrooms of people fucking .... who cares .... wasting police resources, oh that.
Posted by Max on March 4, 2009 at 9:50 PM
23
Wow. Talk about sensationalism. A Speakeasy? Don't tell me this is 1920 because I'm typing on a freakin' compooter.

Let's work on the title for a second: "Underage kid sells booze, cops tell him to stop" -- There, that's a little more accurate. Hmmmmmmm, come to think of it, is that newsworthy? Nope. I guess there's a reason you called it a Speakeasy after all.

If your blogging on this, why don't you go follow all the people out there buying alcohol for minors at grocery stores. Look, I even made you a fitting sensationalist title: Drug Trafficking at Wallingford QFC.

Loser
Posted by Kyle J on March 4, 2009 at 10:28 PM
24
How is this any different for chipping in for beer/booze/keg at a house party? If you tip someone at a wedding or graduation party can it be shutdown for being a speakeasy too? Someone has to be in charge of the making the drinks at a party. This is so fucking stupid I can't believe the police charged him with anything at all.

Meanwhile crackdealers and 15 yo kids with pistols are probably stirring up shit on 3rd and Pine, and 23rd and Union.
Posted by O.E, Original Eaglescout on March 4, 2009 at 11:09 PM
25
For those with the 2nd grade vocabulary:

A "Speakeasy" is a private, unlicensed club that illegally serves alcohol to its patrons.

Yes, the term did reach prominence in the 1920's, but the definition is still valid.

When we start removing words from our common vocabulary, and only partially replace them with acronyms, we start to lose the very tools of communication. At least, IMHO.
Posted by Sir Vic on March 5, 2009 at 11:03 AM
26
Regardless of whether this place was actually functioning as a bar, at 20 years old, he's not legally allowed to be pouring alcohol.

@17 There most certainly is an intersection at 76th and 5th.
Posted by T on March 5, 2009 at 11:47 AM
27
I was at the party, too. About 25 people were dancing. Maybe half of them were drinking at all. What brings these people together is a love of music and dancing, not drinking. These are a good group of clean living, well-behaved people. It is rare for people to even get really drunk at these parties, since intoxication makes you lose coordination and messes with your dancing. Seriously, if this is the caliber of crime that Seattle police and our justice system occupy themselves with, then Seattle is a ridiculously boring city.
Posted by Seattle Dancer on March 5, 2009 at 12:45 PM
28
@ 25 -- Sir Vic

Thank you for clearing that up, sir. I see you know how to work and navigate through merriam-webster.com without any serious difficulty. I get that.

Let's keep in mind that this was a house, not a club. And let's face it, at many parties there are minors, and with that there is some sort of /illigal/ exchange. Do you call every houseparty a speakeasy? Are you that obtuse? This is where people live, and this was a party, not an unliscensed club. This wasn't a Speakeasy by any stretch of the imagination.

If you want to get into a pissing match over words, be my guest.
Posted by Kyle J on March 5, 2009 at 1:02 PM

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