The Irish Embassy Pub, a local bar, restaurant and sometime dance club, is closing starting Monday for violating Colorado’s Alcohol Beverage Code.
It will reopen Dec. 6.
A news release from the pub did not say what the nature of the violation was, and a spokeswoman for the pub would not elaborate when contacted Friday evening.
Daria Serna, communications director for the state Department of Revenue, which oversees state code violations, was unable Friday night to provide detail about the violation, which took place Jan. 1.
Durango City Manager Ron LeBlanc said the violation had not been administered by the city’s liquor board, but enforced by the state. He said the state shutting down a bar was relatively unusual.
But he said the state’s intervention did not necessarily mean the alleged violations were more serious than violations that come before the city’s liquor board.
In a news release issued Friday afternoon, the pub’s owners and manager apologized to the community.
“We’re not perfect. We’ve spent the last five-and-a-half years trying to be an integral part of Durango, and we feel like we need to make an apology to the town,” said Irish Embassy owner Michael Graham, on behalf of owner Jerry Hembury and manager Phil Brennan.
The release did not state exactly what the Embassy had done to receive the suspension.
“We broke the rules,” Graham said in the news release. “We’ve embarrassed ourselves and have put the town leadership and community in an uncomfortable position, and for that we apologize.”
The release said the Embassy plans to use the closure to refurbish and clean.
Graham said the pub will reopen Dec. 6 for lunch.
cmcallister@durangoherald.com
