Food News

Sunset Cantina liquor license suspended after state finds underage drinkers at restaurant

Many of the underage patrons interviewed by the ABCC were drinking vodka, according to an August report.

September 12, 2024

1 minute to read

A restaurant popular with college students near the Boston University campus will temporarily lose its liquor license for more than a week in October after the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission found multiple underage patrons consuming alcohol.

According to a report from the ABCC posted last month, the incident occurred Oct. 12, 2023 at Sunset Cantina in Brookline, a restaurant that serves Mexican cuisine and margaritas.

Nine investigators from the ABCC showed up to the restaurant to see how the eatery was conducting business. They saw a “large crowd of youthful appearing individuals” outside Sunset Cantina, and when they went inside, the ABCC said most of the diners also looked younger.

Investigators reported interactions with 15 underage people, with all but one with a drink in their hand or admitting to drinking earlier.

Most of the underage patrons were drinking mixed drinks with vodka, though there were two beer-drinking patrons among the reported underage customers.

When asked for identification, the ABCC reported that many of the 15 underage people gave them fake IDs from states like Rhode Island and Connecticut.

As the ABCC investigators were checking IDs, the report said that many young people left before the investigators ever got to them, and the restaurant went from near-capacity to near-empty in less than 10 minutes.

The actual liquor license suspension issued lasts for 18 days, but only nine of those days must be served, from Oct. 7 to 15, according to the report. The other nine days “will be held in abeyance for a period of two years provided no further violations” are found by the ABCC during that time.

It’s not the first time Sunset Cantina has faced consequences with local and state officials. ABCC investigators found multiple underage people drinking margaritas and other alcoholic beverages in 2021, and an undercover underage patron with the ABCC was able to purchase a beer without being carded at Sunset Cantina in 2023. Brookline News also reported in October 2023 that the restaurant’s liquor license was suspended for a handful of days after an overcrowding incident and reports of fighting brought police to the scene in June 2023.