The Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant in downtown Boulder has been granted permission to continue selling alcohol Thursday after facing the consequences of a sting that occurred last fall.
Starting tomorrow the Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant will be able to serve alcohol once again. The restaurant had be on suspension after an incedent last semester. (CU Independent/Josh Shettler)
In October, an undercover police officer was served alcoholic beverages despite presenting invalid identification.
The violation consequences forced the Rio to close on Sunday and Monday, and the restaurant was not allowed to serve alcohol on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Chloe Rhode, a 20-year-old junior sociology major at CU who works at the Rio, said management has focused on making servers more aware of fake or invalid identification in response to the sting.
“We’ve had 25 green cards since October, so they’ve been keeping an eye on us,” Rhode said.
A green card is issued to a restaurant after a bust is attempted by an undercover cop, and the server notices the fake identification and refuses to serve alcohol to the customer.
Rhode said the direct effects of the violation took so long to surface because, as with any ticket, there is a long waiting period before it goes through the court process.
With the four days of penalties now served, the Rio will offer its full menu and will resume regular operating hours Thursday.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Don Tartaglione at Donald.tartaglione@colorado.edu.
