Since 2019, Utah, long known for its restrictive liquor laws, has begun to ease up on policies like alcohol by volume maximums and pour practices. Still, the consequences of bar alcohol violations — as overseen by the Department of Alcoholic Beverages (DABS) — receive little leniency under state law.
Student bar shutdown
Once a student favorite, SugarHouse Pub closed in November of 2024 due to a sting operation that resulted in over 180 citations — the majority of which involved violations related to the sale of alcohol to minors.
In the aftermath of the sting, DABS issued an order suspending alcohol service at SugarHouse Pub, effectively shutting it down. The pub changed ownership in the spring of 2025, reopening with limited service on May 31.
Noah Kolling, a bartender at Chili’s for almost 5 years, weighed in on the situation at SugarHouse.
“If I had to guess, one of the bartenders probably knew a group of people, and before you know it, it was out of their hands and minors were coming in all the time,” Kolling said. “Bartenders were afraid not to serve them because they didn’t want to lose out on the money.”
According to dram shop laws in Utah, penalties for accidents or injuries caused by an intoxicated individual would fall on both the person and the distributor of alcohol, as well.
Reopening SugarHouse
The consequences for failing to adhere to liquor laws in Utah include fines, penalties and revocation of liquor licenses. Serious violations, such as allowing a minor on the premises or pouring free shots, can result in up to a $25,000 fine and a 180-day liquor license revocation for third strikes.
Kolling explained that because of the strict legal process, many of his colleagues at the Midvale Buffalo Wild Wings struggle to stay in compliance after two prior strikes.
“The process is crazy,” Kolling said. “[Your ID] has to be checked three different times because they only have one more strike. If they fail a check again, they’ll lose their license … they’d lose tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars [for] not being able to sell alcohol.”
Paul and Xenia Maritsas, the new co-owners of SugarHouse Pub, shared some thoughts on the business’s new establishment. “It was closed for a few months, and the old owner struggled to get it back open,” Maritsas said. “Even though he put his life and soul in the place, it just [didn’t work out].”
Maritsas told the Chronicle about some of the necessary requirements to take over the bar, speaking on the process of obtaining licensing from DABS to sell alcohol.
“[DABS has] to make sure that everything is up to their standards,” Maritsas said. “Because of the issues that the last guy had, they were a little tentative.”
Maritsas faced a delay in opening the pub due to an issue with the name listed on the local consent form.
“For me, it felt as though they wanted to test us before they had us pass,” he said. “That’s why we [scan] everybody. We had people try to come in and give us high fives and walk in, but it doesn’t matter – we click everybody.”
Lawyers and undercover cops
These penalties create a secondary market of attorneys specializing in alcohol law violations. Christensen & Jensen attorney Tanner Lenart said most of her clients are businesses that hold liquor licenses and face DABS violations.
“I’ve noticed that one of the patterns is if a server sells to a minor, it’s almost always when it’s a really busy night,” Lenart said. “Sometimes, though, if it’s at a bar and it’s during the day and it’s not busy, [the establishments are] used to having a door person, and [when] they don’t have a door person, the bartender doesn’t card them because they thought the door person had already gotten them.”
Lenart told the Chronicle about her interactions with clients who approached her as a result of underage alcohol stings.
“I would say probably 90% of [these cases involve] undercover stings,” Lenart said. “They hire 19-year-olds to go in with their real license, and with that real license, try to buy a beer. If the establishment passes, they get a little certificate, and if they fail, they get a violation.”
However, these violations are not common. “I would say only maybe twice a year for the past 10 years, do I get what I would consider a real underage sale, just because the vast majority of the time when that happens, there’s nobody policing it,” Lenart said.
Statewide restrictions
Location restrictions for alcohol-selling establishments present another obstacle for business owners in Utah. One clause, in particular, requires that any business activity must be explicitly authorized by law.
“[The express language law] really hampers innovation and takes away a lot of the discretion that the DABS used to have in allowing certain things,” Lenart said. “[In the past], if you wanted to build a restaurant or bar that was too close to a park or a school or a church, you used to be able to get a letter from the park or school or church that said ‘we would love to have this restaurant right next to this park, we think that’d be a lovely addition to our town.’”
Convenience stores and gas stations also adhere to strict liquor regulations. A former gas station worker, who asked not to be identified due to fear of legal repercussions, explained how gas station employees commonly check IDs and sell age-restricted products to customers.
“If you sold alcohol to a [minor] it could be all the way up to $2,500 fine, a year in jail, and revoking of the store’s beverage permit,” the source said. “I’d ID every half-presentable-looking guy that looked to be in his 20s to 50s because of how undercover cops dress.”
Another anonymous source, who requested anonymity for the same reasons, talked about their experience using fake IDs to purchase alcohol at less-strict gas stations.
“They usually scanned it, maybe just looked at the date depending on the person,” the source said. “They never asked questions like what my address was or anything like that.”
t.govitviwat@dailyutahchronicle.com
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