Restaurant to remain dry one month for February attack on state
agents
Gilroy – After three state agents were beaten at Happy Dog Pizza in February, the downtown restaurant will go dry for one month, as a penalty for operating “a disorderly house,” California Alcoholic Beverage Control representatives said Wednesday.
Though the restaurant faced no alcohol-related charges, the beer taps will shut and the wine bottles stay corked for 30 days – “a pretty stiff penalty,” said ABC spokesman John Carr. If a similar violation occurs this year, the restaurant will face 15 extra dry days, plus any added penalties.
Owner Steve Gearing accepted the dry spell rather than contest the charges at an ABC hearing, originally scheduled for Wednesday at ABC offices in San Jose. Last week, he mailed ABC a stipulation, averting the scheduled hearing.
“For us to fight it would cost us way more than the profit from 30 days of liquor sales,” Gearing said. By agreeing to the penalty, Gearing neither agreed to nor denied the ABC’s charges, he said. “We just want to put it past us.”
No dates have been set for the suspension, but Gearing hopes it will coincide with a major remodel that will shut down the bar’s kitchen and second floor, minimizing the eatery’s losses.
“We’ll catch two dogs with one bone,” he said.
Three ABC agents were attacked Feb. 11 as they questioned bar patrons. Police said Joel Gaeta, a Gilroy resident, grabbed a microphone and yelled, “Undercover in the house!” before beating the investigators.
Gaeta has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of battery of an officer, deterring a police officer and inciting a riot. His next court date is this Friday, Dec. 1. Three other people, George Castro, Juan Perez, and Gilbert Garcia, were also arrested following the attack. As of press time, district attorneys had not returned calls regarding whether the three would also be charged.
Gearing groans, recalling the incident.
“It’s not typical of what happens here,” he said. “We took every precaution – we had six security guys working that night. That costs me a lot of money” – $75 per hour – “but we do it.”
ABC representatives said their investigation of Happy Dog was confidential and declined to release details. Instead, the ABC referred to California Business and Professions Code section 25601, which prohibits licensees from keeping a “disorderly house” where disturbances occur.
But it’s tough to control unruly patrons, said Gilroy Police Sgt. Dan Castaneda, who coordinates bar and dancehall permits for the city.
“You can’t control people when they’re under the influence of alcohol,” said Castaneda. “The establishments end up paying the price, because these people go sideways.”
Gearing said the restaurant is now brighter and quieter by night, and the hip-hop Fridays that 20-somethings swarm to are being traded out for mellow top-40, disco and rock, which attract a mixed-age crowd. Under-21 nights, where teens party downstairs and alcohol is served upstairs, have been halted, and the restaurant plans to pare down its hours, shooing night owls out the door by midnight.
By March, when the downtown celebrates its grand re-opening, Gearing said the restaurant will be retooled, the menu revamped and the atmosphere a little more relaxed.
“We’re a family restaurant,” said Gearing. “I’m leaving the rest to the bars.”
