Two Downers Grove Businesses Cited for Serving Beer to Undercover Teen

Two Downers Grove businesses were cited with liquor violations last month after serving beer to an undercover teen within the same hour, authorities said.

On March 13, officers caught Gong Ho Restaurant, 1338 75th St., and Playa del Sol Mexican Restaurant, 500 75th St., selling beer to a 17-year-old acting as a special agent for the Downers Grove Police Department.

Representatives from both businesses admitted to serving the minor while appearing before the Downers Grove Liquor Commission on April 4 for separate disciplinary hearings.

Downers Grove staff attorney Dawn Didier said the 17-year-old, accompanied by two officers, was served a bottle of Miller Lite at Playa del Sol around 4:47 p.m and then another at Gong Ho around 5:44 p.m.

The agent was not asked to show identification when she ordered a drink at Playa del Sol, Didier said.

At Gong Ho, the teen presented her actual driver's license, which features a red "Under 21" banner across the top and is vertically oriented. The server reviewed the license before delivering the beer, Didier said.

Albert Fung, the son of Gong Ho owner Cam Fung, told the commission that the waiter thought the girl's ID said "1985" rather than her actual birth year, 1995.

"He had worked a 10-hour day. It was a human mistake," Albert Fung said.

Although liquor commissioners were pleased to hear of the training efforts Gong Ho has made since the incident, they questioned the waiter's claim that he misread the agent's ID.

"I have absolutely no understanding how you can look at a vertical license and not know that you just shouldn't serve that person," chairman Alice Strelau said.

Playa del Sol offered no excuses for their waitress, who was fired after she failed to explain why she served alcohol without asking for proper identification.

"This is every business's worst nightmare," co-owner Anahis Salgado told the commission. "We feel responsible for the incident."

Like Gong Ho, Playa del Sol has updated its server manuals and is now conducting regular meetings with staff members.

After hearing testimony, the liquor commission unanimously found both restaurants guilty of serving a minor. Gong Ho and Playa del Sol both opted for 10-day suspensions of their liquor licenses rather than paying fines to the village. They will also be responsible for administrative fees related to their hearings. 

The restaurants are two of six Downers Grove businesses that have been caught selling alcohol to minors this year. Three restaurants—DuPage Inn, Mrs. T's Pizza and Lao Sze Chuan—and Prestige Liquor Mart all went before the liquor commission in March after selling beer to an 18-year-old special agent.

READ: Downers Grove Police Catch Four Businesses Selling Minor Alcohol in One Day

The agenda for the liquor commission's May 2 meeting lists two disciplinary hearings, one for Bohemian Garden, 980 W. 75th St., and another for Sushi City, 1510 75th St.

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