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Home > Blogs > Taste: Dayton food and restaurants > Archives > 2010 > January > 28 > Entry
Madison’s probe widens, snags Arrow, Bonbright
The same state agency that raided Madison’s Bistro Jan. 14, seized alcohol and charged its owner with illegal sales of alcohol has issued a citation against Dayton-based beer distributor Bonbright Co. and has started potential enforcement action against Centerville liquor wholesaler Arrow Wine & Spirits for improperly selling alcohol to the restaurant, Julie Hinds, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Ohio Investigative Unit, said this morning, Jan. 28.
The citation against Bonbright and the recommendation for potential action against Arrow are not criminal charges, but could result in administrative sanctions, Hinds said. Companies that distribute beer, wine and liquor on a wholesale basis have a responsibility under Ohio statues to make sure the restaurants and bars who purchase the alcohol have a valid permit to sell it at retail, Hinds and other state officials said. Madison’s Bistro’s license to serve alcohol was revoked on Jan. 12, 2009, as a result of non-payment of state taxes, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Liquor Control.
The state’s raid on the Washington Twp. restaurant at 5531 Far Hills Ave. came one year and two days after the restaurant’s attempt to renew its liquor license was rejected. Officials with Bonbright, which operates a warehouse and offices at 1 Arena Park Drive, could not be reached early today. Arrow Wine & Spirits co-owner Denny Freyvogel said today that he was looking into the matter and declined immediate comment.
Jada Brady, executive director of the Ohio Liquor Control Commission, said she has not yet received a citation against Bonbright. Such citations generally trigger a civil trial of sorts before the commission, which acts as a court, hearing testimony from agents involved in the raid and from the alcohol distributors themselves, Brady said. The commission examines the facts of each case, along with the record of the distributor, and issues a ruling that can include a maximum penalty of revocation of the distributor’s license or monetary fines, Brady said.
Matt Mullins, spokesman for the division of liquor control — an agency, separate from the Ohio Liquor Commission, that will have jurisdiction over the forwarded complaint regarding Arrow Wine & Spirits — also said his agency has not yet received the investigative report. In such cases, the division’s superintendent would decide what, if any, sanction a distributor would face. The maximum penalty would be the termination of the distributor’s license, although Mullins said he could not recall such a penalty since he joined the division in 2001.
Mullins said while wholesalers such as Arrow do have the responsibility of ensuring that bars and restaurants that buy from them have valid liquor licenses, there is no language in state statute mandating how often permits must be checked. Liquor license information is available on the state agency’s web site, but can be confusing in cases of licenses that have been suspended or revoked but the enforcement action is being appealed, or are otherwise in transition, he said.
The liquor commission’s Brady said distributors “have to be diligent” in ensuring their customers have valid licenses. “They have to check, period,” she said.
In the criminal case, Madison’s owner George Argue’s scheduled arraignment today in Kettering Municipal Court was canceled after his attorney entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf, a court spokeswoman said. Argue has been charged with one count of illegal sales of alcohol, a first-degree misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of $1,000 fine and six months in jail, and keeping a place where alcohol was sold illegally, a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of a $500 fine with no jail time. A date for a pretrial conference has not yet been set, a court spokeswoman said.
Permalink | Comments (21) | Post your comment | Categories: Local restaurant news
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By say what
January 29, 2010 1:19 PM | Link to this
VSM you are a idoit or from Madisons, how could Madisons be the victim when they were clearly breaking the law. Taking sales away from the business on Far Hills that pay their taxes.
By EastDideDanny
January 29, 2010 1:03 PM | Link to this
And Jon said: “Gambling,Drugs, Prostration, selling unlicensed alcohol is allowed by the Dayton police and the state to appease the community.” Heaven forbid we have illegal “Prostration” - people would be in the prone position everywhere.
By vsm
January 29, 2010 10:56 AM | Link to this
What a mess for the Argues. Seems the one here is the State. The State should be required to send certified mail to the owners and their distributors when a license is revoked. The State wastes the taxpayers money on these “raids” sending in a small army to claim property. Why all the agents when two could do the job. We need to put pressure on the state to monitor this waste of time and money. The Argues are truly the victims here…. wake up people.
By Not Looking Good
January 29, 2010 8:33 AM | Link to this
So does this mean Madison’s won’t be open for brunch on Sunday???
By steve
January 29, 2010 8:06 AM | Link to this
Here is one reason why government costs too much… Matt Mullins, spokesman for the division of liquor control — an agency, separate from the Ohio Liquor Commission, why do we need two agencies to control the same thing?
By Squirrellygirl
January 29, 2010 7:50 AM | Link to this
Deregulate everything IMO. It’s all about the money. Starve the gov’t. We need smaller less intrusive gov’t.
By Jon
January 29, 2010 7:47 AM | Link to this
When’s the state going after the AFTER HOURS JOINTS on Dayton’s West side they been allowed to operate for many yrs and still to date . they have never had a Liquor license and buy their Booze out of state (Ind, Kentucky)and even retail. Gambling,Drugs, Prostration, selling unlicensed alcohol is allowed by the Dayton police and the state to appease the community. Ask yourself the question when was the last time you heard of the Dayton Police Busting one of these places, It’s been overlooked for years and they exist today as long as they don’t cause the police any problems.
By Arnie
January 29, 2010 6:24 AM | Link to this
It should be the state’s responsibility to notify all distributors when they pull a license. I would not go there anyway since they do not serve BUD products. The owners should be ashamed on so many levels. Close them down permanently. It is tarnished now anyway.
By hk
January 29, 2010 1:33 AM | Link to this
Why would you keep going there 5 minutes before they close?? Obviously never been in service industry….
By well
January 28, 2010 11:11 PM | Link to this
It is, by all accounts, Madisons fault. They screwed the system and are taking other people down with them. It will be interesting to see the fines on AW and Bonbright…
By Carrie
January 28, 2010 8:57 PM | Link to this
Totally agree with Bosch’s Poodle, both stores have very rude employees, is that a requirement to be hired there?
By Bob
January 28, 2010 8:56 PM | Link to this
The state knows who write checks and who does not for these purchases. Talk about a paper trail. For all those who wanted to excuse this when it was first revealed you have employees who said unemployment was not paid, and now other legit businesses are going to have to spend time and money to keep their ability to stay in business. If it was me, I’D sell my home and start over. (that is what I did - not any fun, but you know when you lose a license it means something - they should have asked their lawyer). I speak from experience, being in business is not for the faint of heart, it is risky, very risky.
By Dayton Diner
January 28, 2010 5:22 PM | Link to this
I don’t think you can really compare a restaurant or bar with the average customer buying beer. It takes lots of nerve to continue to operate without a liquor license, it’s easy to see how they had the nerve to dupe their suppliers. Hope Arrow doesn’t get in too much trouble,but I bet Arrow Wine will start “carding” all of their big accounts. I agree that the state should issue a monthly list of all revoked liquor licenses. Seems the state wants to control the liquor, but leave enforcement up the the business? Not quite right.
By xugrad96
January 28, 2010 4:03 PM | Link to this
Arrow and Bonbright are required to make sure I have my valid license or State ID if I want to purchase booze..and if they dont check and I’m not “legal” they get in trouble…its the same for the businesses they supply. However,I would think that the state would send out a notification to these businesses if they revoke a license so Arrow and Bonbright could avoid this headache in the future.
By Ajax
January 28, 2010 3:47 PM | Link to this
Hope the government and the bussiness owners here can come up some answers b-4 some more jobs are lost.
By Johio
January 28, 2010 3:12 PM | Link to this
To Bosch’s Poodle: Hold them responsible yourself. If you’re not happy with the service, shop somewhere else. Anyone who repeatedly goes back for more abuse has a mental illness.
By Mayor McHat
January 28, 2010 3:11 PM | Link to this
If the state is going to require its licensed distributors to verify licenses of those they sell to then they’re going to need to provide a legitimate way to check that information. The current permit records online consist of various raw text files that are difficult to navigate, confusing and contradictory in many cases and don’t make any provision for denoting suspended permits still working their way through the appeals process (which can potentially take years). Its par for the course for government though, just as employers are fined all the time for not verifying employees immigration and right-to-work status, even though there are no reliable ways to do so and in many cases requiring the documents has brought on lawsuits from those alleging profiling and civil rights violations. The State should work on better records and reporting projects rather than wasting our money on trains.
By null
January 28, 2010 2:28 PM | Link to this
bonbright and arrow should have “id’” madison’s
By well
January 28, 2010 2:27 PM | Link to this
It is the distributors responsibility to make sure a bar/restaurant/retail est. has a proper liquor license before selling to them. A bar/rest/retail place should make a copy for the distributors every year. Arrow and Bonbright can not sell at wholesale to people without a liquor license. That is the deal folks.
By Chris
January 28, 2010 2:15 PM | Link to this
That’s unfortunate that Bonbright and Arrow got pulled into this mess because of the fraudulent and illegal actions of Madison’s owners.
By Bosch's Poodle
January 28, 2010 2:14 PM | Link to this
How is it Arrow Wine’s fault that a customer’s restaurant failed to pay taxes? They shouldn’t be held responsible for that. What Arrow Wine should be held responsible for is their rude, condescending service and for incessantly blocking the doors and harassing customers 5 minutes before they actually close.