Pretzels prove to be restaurant owner’s downfall after he is found guilty of operating the venue as a bar and fined $4,700
- A restaurant has been ordered to pay thousands of dollars for operating as a bar
- The restaurant, 5 Sawyers, was visited by Liquor and Gaming NSW inspectors
- The only item available on the menu after 9pm was a ‘German-style pretzel’
A restaurant has been forced to cough up thousands of dollars after the only food it was found to be selling alongside alcohol late at night was pretzels.
Liquor and Gaming NSW inspectors visited 5 Sawyers in Newcastle, north of Sydney, last year where they were told the full food menu ceased at 9pm.
The only item available on the menu after that time was a ‘German-style pretzel with a cheese dipping sauce and cracked pepper’, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Newcastle restaurant 5 Sawyers has been fined and ordered to pay legal costs after it was found the only food it was serving after 9pm was pretzels
A statement of facts tendered to Newcastle Local Court said when the inspectors visited on the night of September 16, they observed no table service and drinks being bought straight from the bar.
They also spotted a sign near the front entrance that read: ‘A Bar With Food’.
During the same visit to the restaurant, ‘about 92 per cent of total sales’ were from alcohol, records from 8pm to 1am showed, with food sales accounting for just seven per cent.
The restaurant was slapped with a $1,200 fine and had to pay $3,500 in legal costs after licensee Benjamin Dewson was found guilty of running the venue as a bar.
‘There should be a clear and consistent message that there must be full compliance with liquor licence requirements,’ Magistrate David Price said.
It is illegal for a restaurant to have alcohol sales as its primary purpose under liquor licensing laws.
The restaurant (pictured) was slapped with a $1,200 fine and had to pay $3,500 in legal costs after licensee Benjamin Dewson was found guilty of running the venue as a bar
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