Popular Victoria restaurant fined $7K for serving beer to minor working for the liquor inspector

Little Jumbo has until Nov. 21 to pay the $7,000 penalty, which is the minimum monetary fine for a first infraction. More severe contraventions can warrant a fine of $11,000 for a first offence and can also carry a liquor licence suspension of seven to 11 days. (File photo)

Little Jumbo, a popular restaurant and cocktail bar in downtown Victoria, has been fined $7,000 after serving a beer to a minor who was working undercover for the B.C. liquor inspector.

The penalty marks the first infraction for the fine-dining establishment, which opened at 506 Fort St. in August 2013.

Owner Bruce Gillespie called the ordeal "a humbling, humiliating and distressing experience," according to an Oct. 24 decision of the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch.

The provincial liquor inspector entered the restaurant at 5 p.m. on March 24, sitting at a table in the middle of the dining room. Once seated, he relayed a message to his 17-year-old partner waiting in the car outside.

The minor entered the restaurant and sat at the bar, prompting the inspector to move to a table closer to the minor in order to see and hear his interactions with the bar staff.

The minor ordered a pint of Pathway Pale Ale from Category 12 Brewing, according to the liquor branch decision.

Once the beer was placed in front of him, the minor told the bartender something had come up and he needed the bill. The teen paid with cash and left the restaurant immediately.

The liquor inspector then walked up to the bar and asked the bartender if he had asked the minor for identification. The bartender admitted he did not, at which point the inspector identified himself and informed the bartender and the bar manager, who was seated nearby, that they had been the subject of a liquor compliance inspection.

The bar manager testified that the night of the offence was the bartender's final training shift after working four shifts shadowing and being shadowed by other staff members.

He also submitted a written statement from the bartender about the incident, in which he said, "I was much more focused on the behaviour" of the liquor inspector at the time, "who seemed very sketchy, moving tables, being weird, than I was in anything else."

"He stuck out and was behaving oddly and was quite distracting," the bartender continued. "His demeanour seemed off, I was certainly focused on that."

In retrospect, it did seem odd that the youth entered the bar at precisely 5 p.m., the bartender added.

"Most younger guests come in late at night and are clearly looking for a cheap drinks-focused establishment, which we are not," he said. "It's typically late-night and often they come in the door and then decide that it isn’t the right place for them."

In his decision, Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch general manager Nerys Poole dismissed the distraction argument, writing that the restaurant had just opened for the night and was therefore not busy.

"Distractions are an inevitable part of any licensed establishment and may occur at any time," Poole said. "This does not excuse a relaxation of the rules around making ID requests.

Little Jumbo has until Nov. 21 to pay the $7,000 penalty, which is the minimum monetary fine for a first infraction. More severe contraventions can warrant a fine of $11,000 for a first offence and can also carry a liquor licence suspension of seven to 11 days.