Publican slams Hamilton booze culture

A bar owner whose liquor licence is to be suspended has slammed Hamilton's "cheap drink culture" as the worst in the country.

The Bahama Hut in Alexandra St will have to close for seven days within the next three months because it ran two promotions for much of this year giving punters unlimited drinks for six-hour periods for a set package price.

The Liquor Licensing Authority issued the decision after a two-day hearing earlier this month.

The two promotions were the "Funtastic Fridays", where drinkers paid $39 to consume unlimited drinks 9pm-3am, and the "Super Saturdays", where punters could pay $45 to drink an unlimited amount for the same six-hour period.

But The Bahama Hut owner Clayton Mitchell indicated he had been forced into the promotions by the city's "discount culture".

He said he was not happy about providing discounted drinks and was only trying to compete with other bars such as The Outback, Coyotes, and Bar 101.

"Hamilton is the worst place in the country for cheap drinks. I have bars in Wellington, in Tauranga, and we don't serve cheap drinks – other than happy hours. Hamilton is the worst place I've ever been for the expectations from customers and they've been given that by the bar owners. Hamilton and Dunedin are the two cities on the map for their cheap drink culture."

Because the bar eventually stopped the promotions after six months, the authority will let Mr Mitchell decide when it will shut, sometime before March 31. Mr Mitchell said he hadn't decided that yet.

There were obvious costs in lost revenue and customers but he would use the time to refit and remodel the bar. "We will make a positive out of it. We have to pay some penance for it I guess. It's a disappointment that it came down to this. We will serve the time and be gracious about it."

He said that at least the decision gave some clarification on what was allowed.

Health Waikato health protection adviser Ross Henderson said that in June 2008 he approached The Bahama Hut and other student bars about price promotions and intoxication. The Hamilton alcohol accord between bars, police and Health Waikato had agreed bars would act responsibly and host promotions in accordance with national guidelines.

When the "Funtastic Friday" and "Super Saturday" promotions were referred to him in June 2009 it was the first time a Hamilton licensee had offered such a promotion for a number of years.

Mr Henderson said the bar continued with the promotion in the face of considerable criticism.

He argued that binge drinking did not just happen – it was created and the promotion was an example of how it was sustained.

Mr Mitchell responded that tight controls were in place to ensure drinkers didn't get intoxicated.

During the hearing, testimony was given by a Waikato District Health Board employee who visited The Bahama Hut in September with friends to take part in the "Funtastic Friday" promotion. She was asked to sign a disclaimer about the rules of the promotion, one of which she believed was that she could be checked at any time for signs of intoxication. She was in the bar for 3 1/2 hours and consumed up to 18 drinks, most of which were vodka based.

In its decision, the authority said the promotions breached a national protocol on alcohol promotions.

"In our view these promotions presented a real and substantial probability of excessive consumption.

"It was crystal clear that patrons paying their money were challenged to see whether they could drink more in value than the amount that had been paid.

"The only factor stopping them from continuous drinking for six hours was when an alert member of staff considered that they were showing signs of intoxication."