Maxie's Pizza Bar & Grille of Charles Village has had its liquor license suspended for six weeks and agreed to pay $8,000 in fines for serving alcohol to minors on two occasions this past fall.
A plea deal previously agreed upon by Thomas Akras, the Liquor Board's in-house legal counsel, and Frank Boozer, the attorney for Maxie's' licensees, was presented in an unusual meeting Thursday that found two City Council members, Robert Curran and Mary Pat Clarke, on opposite sides of the argument. Curran, who represents the city's 3rd District, is a Maxie's co-licensee, while Clarke was present to voice concerns against Maxie's on behalf of residents of her 14th District.
Clarke said neighbors "complained a lot" to her about groups of Maxie's patrons causing loud disturbances at closing.
On Oct. 24, Sgt. Rob Morales of the Baltimore Police Department found an 18-year-old man drinking a beer inside Maxie's, in the 3000 block of N. Charles St. He had obtained from an assistant manager a wristband letting him purchase alcohol, according to Liquor Board documents. Another officer also overheard a Maxie's employee tell patrons to "hide in the restrooms" to avoid police.
About a month later, police said they sent an underage cadet into Maxie's. She purchased a Coors Light without being asked for identification.
A handful of officers attended the hearing to confirm those accounts.
Maxie's will be able to reopen its bar Feb. 19. Michelle Bailey-Hedgepeth, executive secretary for the Liquor Board, said Maxie's would be watched closely.
"The fact that there were kids hiding in the bathroom — that's very serious," she said.
Curran said Monday he was a co-licensee for Maxie's as a favor to family friend Joyce Yun Chong, because of a rule requiring a city resident on the license. Parkville resident Chong, the other licensee, also appeared before the Liquor Board.
At the hearing, Clarke wanted the licensees to agree to a memorandum of understanding with the Charles Village Civic Association regarding hours of operation, safety concerns and exterior maintenance. Boozer said he would "encourage" his clients to agree to it, but would not agree that day.
Clarke also suggested the bar should close until the end of the academic year. The bar is close to the Johns Hopkins University and Loyola University Maryland.
"A new crop of students arrive [in the fall] and they [would not] have expectations of being served as underage patrons," Clarke said Monday.
Liquor Board Chairman Thomas Ward called Clarke's argument "persuasive," but approved the plea agreement.