The bars are fighting back.
The Swamp Restaurant, 101 Cantina and Rum Runners (formerly Fat Tuesday) are appealing recent court decisions that would prohibit them from serving those under 21 after 9 p.m.
Under a city ordinance designed to curb underage drinking, bars and restaurants that incur a certain number of infractions each business quarter are subject to the prohibition. Venues with a capacity under 201 can have up to five offenses per quarter, while larger venues can have 10, according to attorney Elizabeth Waratuke, who is representing the city in these appeals.
Subsequent infractions incur longer prohibition periods. A first offense gets 90 days, second-time offenders get 180, and a third strike makes a venue 21 and up for a full year, Waratuke said.
101 Cantina's appeal hearing was rescheduled from Monday to July 1, the Swamp for July 20, and Rum Runners for July 22.
Employees at 101 Cantina are not commenting on the restaurant's numerous infractions. The small venue faces the harshest penalty, having surpassed the limit three quarters in a row, with 56 incidents since the beginning of this year, according to Gainesville police statistics.
"We kind of feel like we're being singled out," said Swamp manager Brian Behling.
The Swamp is facing a 180-day prohibition after surpassing the limit twice since January.
He said police often stop by without warning and arrest employees for things like not using mechanical customer counters.
"To me, it feels like the city's hurting for money," he said. "So they're going after small businesses for petty things."
Behling said the prohibition, if effected, would hurt the Swamp's business because it caters mostly to the student population. He said not allowing younger patrons would force the restaurant to raise prices.
Behling said the Swamp is doing everything it can to make sure the number of underage drinking infractions stays below the ordinance level.
"I'm constantly walking through the crowd," Behling said. "We're hiring more security staff. We're really tightening the screws."
