News
RB Council Adopts Ordinance Restricting Unaccompanied Minors In Bars
By John Burton
RED BANK - At a regular meeting last Monday, the borough council approved an ordinance that minors unaccompanied by parents or guardians were restricted from patronizing businesses that serve liquor.
The ordinance includes exemptions for hotels and restaurants that also serve alcohol.
The ordinance followed a series of incidents at Chubby's Waterside Café, 26 West Front Street to which police responded.
Chubby's, a club that regularly presents live music or DJs, had been allowing those younger than 21 to enter to see musical acts, usually on Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons. During those times, Chubby's continued to sell alcoholic beverages to people over 21, issuing wrist bracelets to identify those old enough to drink.
According to council members, the under-21 events have led to a series of problems at the club. Last year a large fight broke out outside of the club at closing following a hip hop party. Two groups engaged in a brawl on West Front Street and English Plaza that required intervention by borough police and help from police departments from neighboring towns to break up.
More recently, police responded to several incidents at the club last weekend. On Friday, Feb. 20 at about 1:21 a.m., officers responded to a report of a fight outside the club and found one 18-year-old victim knocked unconscious and a 19-year-old who had been stabbed in the leg.
During this time, according to a police spokesman, officers responded to two other assaults, one occurring inside Chubby's and the other outside but directly in front of the club. In those cases the victims were 22- and 21-years-old.
At Monday's meeting Councilman Arthur V. Murphy III told the club's owner, "The incidents have piled up."
"It's a problem," Murphy said. "You have kids congregating to the wee hours of the night."
"We have had these problems on Thursday night," when the club allows underage patrons to come in while other customers drink alcohol, Police Chief Mark F. Fitzgerald told the council.
According to Fitzgerald, in the past year there have been 60 incidents involving those under 21 at Chubby's.
Michael Gilson, who has owned and operated the site for 15 years and who holds the borough's only cabaret liquor license, said he felt blindsided by the council's actions. "Nobody told me you were going to do this," he said. "I think we could have sat down and talked."
Gilson is currently planning on changing his business model. Last March he, as 50 percent owner of the property, received zoning board approval for plans to demolish the aging building and construct a more family-style restaurant and bar, with a couple of residential units on the upper levels. Since gaining the approvals Gilson said his plans have been sidetracked by the current economic climate.
According to Gilson, that plan may be impacted by the new ordinance. "This affects all of my business," he said.
The club can continue to operate and serve alcohol to those of legal age. The business may also continue to hold events for those under 21, but they may not serve alcohol during those events.
"We're not putting him out of business," Murphy said. "We want separation [of the ages]."
"Give me six months, three months before going to the next level," Gilson asked.
"I think we have to protect the quality of life of all of our residents," added Mayor Pasquale Menna, noting the area has a number of residential units as well as bars and restaurants.
After the meeting, an angry Gilson said, "I feel Chubby's is being attacked."
In response to Menna's assertion concerning noise and quality of life matters, Gilson noted when he bought the site there were no condominiums in the West Front Street area. And, "If you buy a house next to an airport," he countered, "expect airplane noise."
