Repeated underage drinking violations and the resulting sanctions have made some of midtown's popular venues off limits for those under 21.
The Swamp Restaurant, 1642 W University Ave., and 101 Cantina, 1632 W University Ave., have been ordered by the City of Gainesville to turn away underage customers from 9 p.m. until closing time. The probation began July 1 and lasts 90 days, running until Sept. 28.
Under a city ordinance that took effect April 2009, bars and restaurants are subject to penalty if they incur repeated infractions during a business quarter.
Bars with an occupancy of 201 or less can have up to five infractions before getting the prohibition, which is 90 days for first-time offenders. Higher-occupancy bars can get 10 infractions before they get penalized.
Rum Runners, 116 SE First St., faced the 90-day penalty before appealing and bringing it down to 45 days. The bar's ban ends at 2 a.m. Friday morning.
In July, seven UF Student Government Senators met to discuss the ordinance. The bipartisan group agreed to try to repeal the ordinance through a ballot petition in one of Gainesville's upcoming city elections.
Senate Minority Leader Jon Ossip said the main focus is to gauge student support for a ballot petition and try to get it on the ballot in the city's spring election.
Ossip said the group hopes to organize all concerned students at a future meeting to discuss the opposition of the ordinance, which he said is unfair to all parties involved.
"You're punishing both the business owner and the student that didn't commit any offense," he said. "We view that as a miscarriage of justice."
While Ossip said he feels the ban is unfair to underage customers looking to simply eat out, Gainesville Police Department spokeswoman Cpl. Tscharna Senn said she would hope those patrons would know to try other places around the city.
"This ordinance is only affecting three establishments within the city limits," she said.
The situation is unfortunate for some underage customers, but the prohibition is the bar's own doing, she said.
Nicole Hill, a bartender at 101 Cantina, said the bar has remained busy despite the ban-just with different regulars.
"There are just different crowds than before, but it's still been busy," Hill said. "We still have our busy nights."
She still disapproved of the ban.
"I think it's a little ridiculous because it's not going to keep people from underage drinking," she said. "It's just going to get people to go to other venues."
The number of underage drinking incidents in Gainesville has dipped over the last quarter. GPD records show that since July 1, the three sanctioned bars have had no further infractions, and there have been no spikes in underage drinking incidents at other establishments.
For Tony Espetia, owner of Rum Runners, it was necessary to appeal the longer prohibition because of the nature of the infractions.
The bar had seven incidents between January and March, two more than allowed.
Bar owners need a way to defend themselves from bans, Espetia said, because it is hard to stave off underage customers who use well-produced fake IDs and smuggle alcohol into the bar.
"If it's a good ID, and we ask them for it, at that point, the place should not be held accountable," he said. "If people are trying to deceive us, that should be taking into consideration."
