Amador County – The California Alcoholic Beverage Control was set to post a 20-day-to-indefinite closure of the National Hotel bar late Wednesday night, as agreed upon by the owner. The bar was open earlier this week, with a worker installing locks on the front doors to close down the bar for the allotted time, 20 days or more, depending on the results of the owner applying for a new liquor sales license. Lori Ajax, ABC administrator for the Sacramento District, including Amador and 10 other counties, said the National Hotel bar last July faced 7 violations from an investigation that began last March, which culminated in the sale of alcohol to a female under age 21. Ajax said the “minor decoy operation” was conducted last May 8th after ABC learned that the National was operating under a restaurant and bar liquor license but had not operated a restaurant in 2 years. Undercover ABC officers visited the National to request food on four separate dates, March 22nd, April 4th, April 10th and May 8th of last year. That resulted in charges of four violations of state Business and Professions Code. Also May 8th last year, investigators found 6 tainted liquor bottles, which Ajax said likely had bugs crawl into improper pouring spigots. That resulted in a Penal Code violation of selling “an alcohol solution of a potable nature containing a … poisonous substance.” The state of those bottles also brought a count of violation of Health & Safety Code, “for the sale of alcoholic beverages” … “which were adulterated in whole or part in a diseased, contaminated, filthy, putrid or decomposed substance, or were otherwise unfit for food.” Ajax said the other charges were lesser to the accusation of sale of alcohol to a minor. She said the delay in closing the bar Wednesday, more than 9 months after the violation date last May, was because owner Bill Smith requested an administrative hearing, which was scheduled for last week. Just before the hearing, Smith settled the charges by agreeing to the 20-days-to-indefinite closure of the bar. It will be closed “until he gets the kitchen going,” Ajax said, or until he applies for and receives a bar license. She said Smith indicated “at the hearing that he was going to apply for a different license.” Ajax said Smith has held the liquor license at the National Hotel since November 13th, 1985, with no record of past disciplinary action. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.