Winners is loser in ABC hearings
Popular local bar fined, placed on 3-year probation
By Jami McManama

On April 17 Winners Sports Club was caught selling alcohol to underage drinkers.

The bar/restaurant violated several sections of the Virginia alcohol code between 9pm and 10:10pm on the evening of April 17. The Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) caught four minors participating in "Wesleyan Night."

"As far as I know," said Winners manager Rob Winslow, "the students made up fliers on their own. That’s illegal. The dean got a hold of the fliers and called the ABC."

ABC stepped in and Winners was taken to court with the possibility of losing their liquor license and going out of business.

"It’s not fair," said junior Kate Wehmeyer. "Just because our campus is so strict it shouldn’t go outside campus boundaries."

Dean of Students David Buckingham and several students were asked to speak during the hearing. The owners and management of Winners were also allowed to speak and give their side of the story. The ABC board presided over the hearings.

"I don’t want to pass judgement," said David Buckingham, dean of students. "ABC heard what they had to say and then made a decision."

In the end, Winners lost their license for a week. They were also fined $1000 for the sale of beer and wine and $1000 for the sale of hard liquor to minors. In addition, they are on strict probation for three years. If Winners is caught selling to underage drinkers within that time, they will lose their license indefinitely. Because a large percentage of their sales come from alcohol, future incidents will force them to shut down.

"I don’t think it was enough," said senior Emily Ann Meyer. "We’ve had too many problems with them in the past."

As for now, Winners is starting to crack down on their customers. They now require two forms of identification in order to purchase alcohol. They also have the right to refuse anyone whom they believe is not 21 years of age. They’ve also decided to suspend relations with the college because of the incident. Students should be aware that there will be no more special rates because they attend VWC.

"We’ve decided not to have any more functions for the college," said Winslow. "We can’t because half the students [at the school] are underage."

"I’ve been to Winners," said senior Kelly Wilson. "And I’ll continue to go to Winners. This incident won’t affect the Wesleyan students."