Dollaritas not good enough for one woman, who caused some mayhem when she started pouring tequila from her purse at the South Bay Applebee's, police say
A woman who smuggled some tequila - and blue Gatorade mixer - into the South Bay Applebee's rather than simply chugging down the chain's cheapo maragarita specials one afternoon last October got the restaurant hauled before the Boston Licensing Board today for a disturbance that left her and some poor guy who'd walked over from the nearby Olive Garden laid out outside.
At a hearing today, police and the bar's attorney agreed on the basic facts of an incident late on the afternoon of Oct. 17, when the restaurant was participating in the national chain's dollarita day - margaritas for just a dollar. The woman and two male companies sat at the bar around 4 p.m. and stayed for a couple of hours, downing a total of ten drinks, three of them light beers, none of them margaritas, restaurant attorney John Connell told the board.
The problem was that they were supplementing the non-margaritas with what Connell called the woman's "self-service program," which consisted of a "large bottle of tequila" and Gatorade that she poured into her and her pals' glasses.
The woman in particular quickly became heavily soused but "not as a result of our service," he said, and bar workers escorted the three outside, after calling for help from a BPD detail cop assigned to South Bay duty.
"Several times, they were removed, and several times they came back," Connell said, adding that at one point, the woman could no longer stand up and simply lay down on a bench.
Eventually, the restaurant called police and asked for reinforcements. This time, a flock of cops got the trio outside. When police asked one of the men for his name, he replied, "Deze Nutz," one of the officers who responded told the board.
Meanwhile, one of the men got into an argument with two people who'd come over from the nearby Olive Garden and pushed one of them to the ground.
Neither police nor the bar specified whether Olive Garden escapees were in search of discount margaritas or just a switch from tomato-based foodstuffs.
"These three people were an anomaly in a family-style restaurant," one that has not had a serious violation since it opened in 2012, Connell said.
Still, to reduce the odds of it happening again, he said all restaurant workers are receiving in-restaurant TIPS training for recognizing and dealing with inebriated customers.
The board decides Thursday whether Applebee's could have prevented the incident and, if so, whether any punishment is warranted.
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Comments
thanks for the afternoon
thanks for the afternoon laugh!
yikes
Let's hope getting arrested in an Applebee's is their rock bottom.
Interestingly enough...
On the other hand, a quick Google search shows no arrests in the local Rock Bottom.
Gatoritas
Made sense in high school when my soccer team needed to cool down.
Not that mixing one at home is beneath me on a hot day but, sheesh, have some adult self-respect!
The most astonishing part
Is that the guy said "Deez nuts" to a cop, and didn't get the (expletive) beaten out of him.
Deez Nuts
Is a timeless classic that always delivers. I sincerely hope he said "got em" afterwards
Me too
To be clear, I'm not rooting for blue in this particular scenario.
It's a fair bust
"the woman's "self-service program," which consisted of a "large bottle of tequila" and Gatorade that she poured into her and her pals' glasses."
That's probable cause for a violation of good taste charge right there.
Happy Hour violation?
The Un-Happy Hour laws of Massachusetts require any drink special to be in effect during all operating hours for at least a calendar week.
Since it's not mentioned I wonder if the "Dollarita Day" (singular) national promotion had to last the entire calendar week here to avoid that violation, if that was also part of the issue before the board or if it just got missed. Do you know Adam?
It's legal..
...because they don't offer them for just a day, or a week for that matter, they offer them for a whole month.
Thank you, Michael Dukakis
Loser. Couldn't even beat George Bush, and that entire family sucks.
Another way to look at it
I actually enjoy the local concept of happy hour meaning reduced price apps and foods. It is more inclusive if you have folks who don't drink in your group and I enjoy my drink more if I have something with it. The drinks tend to be better since you are paying full price for them. I've been to happy hour in other states and a lot of places really water stuff down.
Super cheap after work booze by the gallon isn't what it is cracked up to be.
Summer of 2017
I'm working this garbage temp job cold calling folks from a suburban office park cube. Everyone decides to go to the regional chain bar after work on a Friday. I don't think I've ever had less fun in a bar in my life.
Although...
...it's a good way to learn about the human condition. I remember my first job in a corporate office in the burbs. Whole different culture (and yes, people liked to go to the 99 on Fridays).