The LC is a powerful posse. It decides the fate of businesses, and sometimes of whole neighborhoods. With a pass of the pen it can sign the execution order on a bar by rescinding its liquor license. Or its powers can be wielded at the beginning of an establishment’s life, determining whether it will exist at all. Take the Mynah Bird Pub in Wailuku on the corner of Vineyard … [Read more...] about Central Maui Pub Flap
Lc Watch
Do Maui’s Hostess Bars Get Stung?
Let’s open up the LC Watch mailbag, and field a question from Alan (no last name given, and the reason will become obvious in a moment), who wonders: “Does the LC [conduct] minor decoy stings at hostess bars?” Hostess bars, for those unfamiliar, are the joints in Central Maui (there are about a dozen in Wailuku and at least one in Kahului) where you can go in, buy a drink and … [Read more...] about Do Maui’s Hostess Bars Get Stung?
Minor Decoys & Merkins
Another Adjudication hearing in the books and two more minor decoy cases—a no contest plea by Bamboo Grill in Lahaina and a guilty plea by Makawao’s Liquor Shack & Grinds—bringing the total number of successful, er, excuse me, unsuccessful (see the October 8 LC Watch for more about the department’s questionable definition of success) minor decoy stings for the year to 17. But … [Read more...] about Minor Decoys & Merkins
The Five Scariest LC Officials
1. Director Frank Silva – The obvious choice, Silva heads up the department and embodies its capricious philosophy. Plus, he once used the “I know it when I see it” defense with a straight face. 2. Chief Enforcement Officer Bill Pacheco – The strong, silent type, Pacheco rarely speaks at meetings except the fun part at the beginning where everyone goes around and says their … [Read more...] about The Five Scariest LC Officials
Maui Dep’t of Liquor Control Minor Decoy Busts…
Some of the most interesting moments at Liquor Control meetings happen on the margins, when board members and department officials aren’t directly addressing the cases at hand, but other, tangential topics that arise from them. Case in point: while considering the fate of Paia Shell at the September Adjudication hearing, Chairman Donald Fujii asked Director Frank Silva about … [Read more...] about Maui Dep’t of Liquor Control Minor Decoy Busts…