Vernissage Slapped with Two-Week Suspension for Serving Minors

A popular Russian restaurant in Washington Square will stop serving alcohol for two weeks next month as part of a penalty for serving eight underage patrons long after closing time last fall.

As part of an agreement with town lawyers, the owner of also agreed to close earlier on weekdays and accept an additional suspension if caught in another liquor license violation this year. In exchange, the town agreed not to pursue additional charges against the restaurant.

The penalty stems from an October 2010 incident in which police rounded up eight underage patrons who had been drinking inside the restaurant until 3 a.m., an hour after it was supposed to have closed. Officers were told by several witnesses, including a manager, that the minors were “regulars” at the bar, which caters mostly to a Russian clientele.

The owner, Aleksandras Vysochinos, drew harsh criticism from selectmen at a Tuesday night hearing.

“It seems to me that your establishment is not living up to your responsibility to ask for identification and not serve them if they’re underage,” said Selectwoman Nancy Daly. “If you want to do business in Brookline, you really need to reexamine how you’re doing it and take our bylaws very seriously.”

According to a police report, officers were called to the restaurant around 3:30 a.m. on Oct. 2, 2010, for a report of fighting in the street on University Road. Police found eight young men, all but one of them under the age of 21, who appeared intoxicated and reported that they’d been drinking inside Vernissage.

An assistant manager standing outside the restaurant reportedly confirmed that the men had been drinking inside from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. that night, and police later found a bill for the party that included nearly $800 in alcoholic drinks.

While at the restaurant, police also reportedly came across an 18-year-old girl who admitted to being served a shot of tequila at the restaurant. She was also carrying a bottle of vodka at the time, but police determined it had not come from Vernissage.

Robert Allan, a former selectmen who has been hired to represent the restaurant, claimed that some of the information in the police report was inaccurate, but did not elaborate. He denied that the minors were regulars at the restaurant and blamed the manger’s statement on a miscommunication.

“I don’t want you to have the impression that for the last year this group of minors had been regularly drinking there,” he said.

Under the terms of the agreement, the restaurant will be prohibited from serving liquor from April 17 to May 1 and would be forced to give its license up for another two weeks if it is found to have violated its license again in the next 12 months. The owner also agreed to rollback the restaurants closing time from 2 a.m. to midnight on Monday through Thursday.

Some selectmen also suggested that the town should prohibit the restaurant’s practice of pouring liquor from a carafe rather than a bottle, but were persuaded that the practice does not allow patrons to drink more than one drink at a time.