It doesn't matter the name or the owner, whatever restaurant is operating at the corner of Route 152 and Route 1 in Fallston seems destined for trouble, prompting one Harford County Liquor Control Board member to question whether the location might be "cursed."
Owners of The Mallet, the latest business on the southeast corner of the intersection, appeared before the liquor board Wednesday for two show-cause hearings – one involving alleged illegal activity on the premises and one in which the licensees were uncooperative with the board.
The board found the licensees guilty of five of the six charges involved in both cases, fined the business $2,250 and suspended its liquor license for four days.
The board also took the unusual step of deciding another fine of $1,000 will be levied if the licensees – Thomas and Colleen Graden and Brenden Muldoon – don't write a letter of apology to the community and have it published in The Aegis by Feb. 13. If the letter is not published, or the fine isn't paid, the license will be suspended.
"I've been in the retail business for 21 years. Has this location outlived its life as a sit-down restaurant? Either that or it's cursed," liquor board member Thomas Fidler said. "It's not only the building, but the owners, who have no idea what's going on, on their premises."
Fidler, who works in commercial real estate, cited the arrest of the Mallet's former manager, who was found outside the restaurant in October with a handgun and $5,000 cash in his car.
Alleged Illegal activities
The first set of violations dealt with by the liquor board – allowing the license premises to be used for drugs, allowing activities on the premises contrary to state law and allowing people to loiter on the premises – stem from an incident in the parking lot of the restaurant on Oct. 30, 2014.
A Harford County Sheriff's Office deputy on routine patrol in the area said he saw a car, with its engine running, parked alongside the building. Because it was cold and late, around 11:30 p.m., the deputy stopped and approached the car. He arrested both occupants, one of whom identified himself as Ian Thomas Hambrook, a manager at the Mallet.
The deputy also searched the car and found, among other things, a semiautomatic handgun and about $5,000 in cash.
Hambrook, to whom the gun was registered, but did not have a permit to carry a concealed loaded weapon, told the deputy he usually would leave the gun in an office in the restaurant, and had it because he was responsible for making bank deposits. He said he forgot and left it in his car that night.
Hambrook, 26, of the 1300 block of Bennett Place in Bel Air, was charged in the parking lot incident with illegally having a handgun in his vehicle. He pleaded guilty to the offense on Jan. 6 in Harford County District Court, according to court records, and was placed on probation for one year and fined $1,000 by Judge Victor Butanis.
During Wednesday's hearing, Graden and Muldoon said Hambrook was their manager, but he was never responsible for depositing any money, nor did Hambrook have an office in the restaurant where he could store the gun. He no longer is employed at the Mallet.
The board found the licensees in violation on all three counts.
Not cooperating with the board
The Gradens and Muldoon planned on changing the name of the Mallet to Tailgaters with a sports bar-type theme and in October presented their plans to the board, which asked the licensees to keep the liquor board updated on the renovation status. They never came back with any updates, however, because the name change was held up with the state, Muldoon told the board Wednesday.
The liquor board inspectors tried communicating with the Gradens and Muldoon multiple times and tried to conduct multiple inspections at the restaurant, dating to Oct. 29, 2014, when the board approved their concept. In early November, inspector Danielle Markette inspected the restaurant and gave the licensees a letter requesting five things from the licensees, including a copy of the new trader's license, a schedule of renovation dates and an update on the floor plan, among other things.
On Nov. 19, Graden and Muldoon appeared before the board and said they would provide the information requested, but the board had no further contact with them until Jan. 28. Markette said she stopped by more than 15 times between Jan. 1 and 28 for an inspection and each time the place was closed, prompting the violation letter, which charged the licensees with failure to cooperate with the board, closing the business more than 10 days without notifying the board and altering a license premises without board approval.
Graden and Muldoon admitted the business was closed for 20 days, not because they were doing their planned renovations, but because their heating system was broken and needed to be fixed. Graden said the three units would have to be replaced at $25,000 each, so instead they tried to find parts for the aging units, which took some time.
The board found the licensees guilty of failure to cooperate with the board and closing the business more than 10 days without notifying the board.
Penalties
Board members gave Graden and Muldoon an earful when considering how to penalize them for the violations, which also included a fine of $250 because Colleen Graden did not attend Wednesday's hearings. She did not attend a hearing the previous week in which the Mallet was fined $1,500 for serving alcohol to a minor during a compliance test shortly before Christmas.
Collen Graden was required to notify the board if she intended to be absent and she didn't either time. Each failure to notify the board carries a $250 penalty, but the board chose to only fine her for one absence.
Board member Mike Thomson proposed a $1,000 fine for two of the violations in the case involving the illegal activity; board member Vernon Gauss voted against the fine in each violation, board chairwoman Sandi Tunney voted against the fine in the violation involving use of drugs on the premises.
For failing to cooperate with the board, board members voted 3-2 to suspend the license for four days, Monday through Thursday; Gauss and Tunney voted against the suspension.
Thomson's move not to penalize the licensees for not telling the board they would be closed for more than 10 days was rejected by Gauss, Fidler and Tunney. Fidler suggested the $1,000 fine, which would be suspended, if the licensees write the letter of apology.
"I believe the Fallston community deserves better. You and Colleen Graden dropped the ball," Fidler said. "I believe in your sincerity of your efforts. But this is enough. We have to do something to get your attention."