Skybar and Underage drinking.

[DKW 86 7,410]

http://www.oanow.com/servlet/Satellite?pag...23&path=%21news

Would not like to be that player if CTT finds out about it...

Bar owner puts temporary ban on university football players

Donathan Prater  / Staff Writer

July 28, 2006

Since the Skybar Café opened in downtown Auburn it’s been known for attracting a pretty diverse crowd, from college freshmen to fraternity members.

However, on Wednesday night the doors of the 136 W. Magnolia Ave. nightspot were closed to members of Auburn University’s football team.

A sign was posted on the bar’s front window that read, "Due to issues with underage players of the football team, the entire team is temporarily banned."

According to Skybar Café owner Pat Grider, that measure was taken in response to an incident where an employee of his at the Skybar broke an undisclosed rule. And when he attempted to reprimand the employee, an AU football player, whom he declined to name and who is a friend of the employee, interceded, asking him not to discipline the employee.

And that’s where Grider says he drew the line.

"If (head football) Coach (Tommy) Tuberville told one of his football teammates something to do, I’m sure the guy wouldn’t try to tell him what to do," Grider said. "I don’t need someone telling me how to deal with any of my employees either."

After the AU football player persisted, Grider says he asked him to leave the Skybar, which the player refused to do so.

Instead of reporting the player to the coach, Grider posted the sign the following night and turned away a group of about 15 to 20 AU football players who frequent the café, explaining to them why he’d taken such action.

Sources say that some football players were admitted to the club Wednesday night, but others saw the sign and were turned away at the door.

"I’m only trying to make a point to the guy," Grider said. "You don’t tell your coach how to handle things with his team so let me handle my own employees."

While he had words with the AU football player, Grider says it never came to anything more than that and that alcohol did not play a role in the incident.

"If there had been any illegal activity involved, I’d have gone straight to the coach and reported it but this particular player is the kind of guy that thinks he can fix the world," Grider said. "But how he went about it’s not the way to handle it."

Grider says he doesn’t plan to keep the sign up long and as soon as Thursday morning the sign temporarily banning AU football players from the Skybar Café had been removed.

Grider says he’s still a staunch supporter of AU football and says he only has all AU student-athletes best interest at heart.

"The last thing I want to see is an AU athlete get hurt in my bar or anywhere else," Grider said. "I still feel that the AU football team is a great bunch of guys."

[aulax1 0]

I read about this when I got to work in the morning. I didn't want to post anything because I thought it was the wrong thing for the bar owner to do.

1. It is a public establishment where if people pay the cover charge they can get in.

2. If you know people are not of ange, DON'T SERVE THEM!!

The 2 guys who own this place also own another bar in auburn and I stay away from both of them because of the stupid things that the owners have been known to do. This is just the most recent on their long list.

[tigerfan1234 0]

Where is this Skybar? Is it just a name change for Bodega, Tigris(Copper Creek Tavern), or Duey's Downtown or is it a new place entirely?

[mcgufcm 4,096]

it's a private establishment where the owner can do what he wants as long as he isn't breaking the law. if he refuses to let black players in or refuses to let white players in even if he refuses to serve anyone over 50, he doesn't have a leg to stand on, BUT if he creates an arbitrary rule against a group of people that don't have legal protection, it's his place. he can do what he wants.

that's why a bar in b-ham could throw me out for having my shirt untucked despite the fact that the rule wasn't posted in the bar. i don't have any protection by law so i just get to leave.

i don't agree with the bar owner, but he had every right to do what he did.

[Grider 1]

Note that it does not say anything about underage drinking, only that the player in question was underage. Big difference. As far as I know Skybar admits 19 and up.

Skybar is in the old Little Ireland's (how I miss thee) and whatever the sixty other bar names the Grider brothers (no direct relation) have had there.

[DKW 86 7,410]

Note that it does not say anything about underage drinking, only that the player in question was underage. Big difference. As far as I know Skybar admits 19 and up.

Skybar is in the old Little Ireland's (how I miss thee) and whatever the sixty other bar names the Grider brothers (no direct relation) have had there.

253164[/snapback]

I was asking about the player for intefering. CTT will be upset that a player got in the owners face and did not leave.

Sorry, I brain cramped. :blush:

[Grider 1]

I was asking about the player for intefering. CTT will not be upset that a player got in the owners face and did not leave.

253166[/snapback]

I'm sorry what?

I would think that CTT would be a little ticked that the player did not leave when requested to by the owner.

My comment was about the title of the thread. It is not a case of the player being underage and drinking.

[c-zoner 0]

Skybar is in toomers corner, beside moes. Its in the building that has a second story and you can look off of it and see toomers. Coldstone ice cream is on the second story along with some other shops. On wednesday night skybar lowers its age to 18, so thats the night that most underage people go. Ive been a couple times and they are very strict on underage drinking, if they see somebody drinking with an x on there hand they kick them out. Underage drinking still goes on (come on its a college town), but like i said they are very strict.

The rumor going around Auburn is that the player that caused the "trouble" was octavious balkom, but like i said that is a rumor. He is a very good guy, i talk to him alot and i cant see him wanting to cause trouble.

[Texan4Auburn 1,626]

This could have been anyone that did this, varsity sport, club sport, fraternity, clique of hometown friends from Atlanta. Guy stuck up for his friend. How many times do you see someone at a bar get tossed and their friends try and keep it from happening, or try and get them away from the bouncer to get them out of there so the bouncer doesn't rough em up. In this case the friend was a employee, probably served someone underage, and the friend tried to take the blame so his buddie didn't get fired.

[Grider 1]

In this case the friend was a employee, probably served someone underage, and the friend tried to take the blame so his buddie didn't get fired.

253183[/snapback]

There is the problem. If an employer is trying to discipline one of his employees, friends of the employee have no say in that matter. It is between the employee and his boss. If it was two guys in the bar as customers, that is one thing. But stepping into something that between a boss and an employee is wrong.

[AUChizad 0]

Skybar is in the old Little Ireland's (how I miss thee) and whatever the sixty other bar names the Grider brothers (no direct relation) have had there.

253164[/snapback]

The old Blue Room/Dewey's for the more recent alums

[WaDE'05 8]

Pat Grider is a colossal D-Bag. I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. He's probably the sketchiest guy in Auburn. The guy got arrested just a couple of months ago for continuing to sell alcohol past 2:00am. I don't know what he was doing to repremand his employee, but i wouldn't doubt it a bit if whoever it was that stepped in between them was fully justified in doing so. I hate to flame the guy and all, but he has honestly never done anything to prove to me otherwise, and both of his "establishments" carry his same reputation for shadiness. There are a lot of other places to enjoy an adult beverage in town without having to worry about something sketchy happening.

[CircleDrill 178]

And the team is connected to this........... how? Were the guys in Skybar wearing their uniforms....click clack through the bar? Did they flash their *team badges* and act on authority of the team?

Just because they were on the team, the whole team gets banned. That's superior logic if I've ever heard it.

Thank goodness a band member did not do something out of line at Skybar. You would have a mess if you banned 370 kids from a bar.

What a colossal idiot.

[Grider 1]

Pat Grider is a colossal D-Bag. 

253199[/snapback]

I did not mean for my post to sound like an endorsement of the guy. I also think he is crooked jackass. I hate it because it gives my family name a bad connotation. It is not that common of a name. I have lived in Auburn for 11 years now and I get asked if I am related to him about once a month.

As a patron of an establishment you do not get in somebody else's management problem. That is my point.

[ncaajunkie 172]

the sky bar

aka the blue room

aka the 4th quarter

aka kinkos copy place lol next to Little Ireland's

inside is built like a hugh deck with woood floors and front half of the bar

doesnt have a roof !

[auwallace 6]

they have a rule about no backwards hats, that is the dumbest crap i've ever heard of. I hate that place, i got bumrushed by five or six bouncers one night cause i turned my "masters" hat backwards. They can kiss my a$$

[quietfan 233]

I think just about every bar I've ever been in had a sign posted to the effect "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone." In fact, if I'm not mistaken, it may be an ABC (Alcholic Beverage Control) Board requirement, just like a sign that says "All drinks contain 1.5 oz. of liquor unless otherwise specified". [i'm open to correction if wrong]

It's an important bartender/owner's privilage (duty actually) because of the product they sell. They have to be able to cut off drunks (well, preferably BEFORE a customer gets too drunk), eject rowdies, and maintain order because the higher degree of crowd volatility associated with alcohol consumption. I'm not saying this football player was necessarily any of those, just saying it's the owner's right to refuse service.

Also, I don't know these owner(s) from Adam, so I'm not defending or attacking their character, just stating the law as I understand it. And yeah, I don't think any of us would tolerate an outsider interfering with our employee policies and relations.

As for the team: Two-a-days start next week. I don't believe they're going to be thinking about SkyBar for a while!

[AUChizad 0]

I think just about every bar I've ever been in had a sign posted to the effect "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone."  In fact, if I'm not mistaken, it may be an ABC (Alcholic Beverage Control) Board requirement, just like a sign that says "All drinks contain 1.5 oz. of liquor unless otherwise specified".  [i'm open to correction if wrong]

It's an important bartender/owner's privilage (duty actually) because of the product they sell.  They have to be able to cut off drunks (well, preferably BEFORE a customer gets too drunk), eject rowdies, and maintain order because the higher degree of crowd volatility associated with alcohol consumption.  I'm not saying this football player was necessarily any of those, just saying it's the owner's right to refuse service.

Also, I don't know these owner(s) from Adam, so I'm not defending or attacking their character, just stating the law as I understand it.  And yeah, I don't think any of us would tolerate an outsider interfering with our employee policies and relations.

As for the team:  Two-a-days start next week.  I don't believe they're going to be thinking about SkyBar for a while!

253228[/snapback]

I dunno, dude. There's a difference between denying service because someone's had a few too many drinks and saying that you have a policy in which people who belong to a certain group are not allowed in the building.

[Texan4Auburn 1,626]

In this case the friend was a employee, probably served someone underage, and the friend tried to take the blame so his buddie didn't get fired.

253183[/snapback]

There is the problem. If an employer is trying to discipline one of his employees, friends of the employee have no say in that matter. It is between the employee and his boss. If it was two guys in the bar as customers, that is one thing. But stepping into something that between a boss and an employee is wrong.

253185[/snapback]

Didn't say it was right, just that anyone could have done it and not just a football player.

Owner should have taken the employee in the back and taken care of business there, not in front of customers and this all would have been avoided.

[vatz22au 142]

they have a rule about no backwards hats, that is the dumbest crap i've ever heard of.  I hate that place, i got bumrushed by five or six bouncers one night cause i turned my "masters" hat backwards.  They can kiss my a$$

253213[/snapback]

Really? I've been there a couple of times and always had a backwards AU hat on...

[TexasTiger 12,795]

Pat Grider is a colossal D-Bag. 

253199[/snapback]

I did not mean for my post to sound like an endorsement of the guy. I also think he is crooked jackass. I hate it because it gives my family name a bad connotation. It is not that common of a name. I have lived in Auburn for 11 years now and I get asked if I am related to him about once a month.

As a patron of an establishment you do not get in somebody else's management problem. That is my point.

253210[/snapback]

What's this guy's story? Where's he from? Did he attend AU? About how old is he?

[CircleDrill 178]

You guys have made some good points. And the team is connected to this....how? Why was the team banned again?

Saying a bar owner can refuse service to anyone is a weak argument at best. Not because having that right is a bad idea, but because it is not the same thing as having a sign in your window that says "No Football Players."

I hope no engineering major does anything stupid and gets all the engineering majors banned.

[WaDE'05 8]

Pat Grider is a colossal D-Bag. 

253199[/snapback]

I did not mean for my post to sound like an endorsement of the guy. I also think he is crooked jackass. I hate it because it gives my family name a bad connotation. It is not that common of a name. I have lived in Auburn for 11 years now and I get asked if I am related to him about once a month.

As a patron of an establishment you do not get in somebody else's management problem. That is my point.

253210[/snapback]

What's this guy's story? Where's he from? Did he attend AU? About how old is he?

253276[/snapback]

He's probably in his late thirties, early forties, and he still parties with all the college kids in a hapless attempt to hook up with girls half his age. His bars are pretty much the mecca for all sketchiness in Auburn. He and his brother from what I understand have been in and out of trouble with the law for quite a while. If you ask any girl in Auburn about his other bar, the Highlands, she will have a horror story about herself or someone she knows getting drugged their. I'm not confirming or denying that it happens, just that there are probably a dozen or so bars in auburn and his is the only one that has that reputation.

[tigerfan1234 0]

I hate the 4th Quarter/Blue Room/Dueys Downtown/Next Name Please. I was also involved in an incident there when I was a senior in college. Totally stupid set of circumstances got me thrown out of there while my best buddy from high school who was an LSU student didn't get thrown out and he was standing there next to me. We were watching Velcro Pigmies, I think, from the balcony overlooking the entire back dance club area. No signs or security or anything said we were not allowed up there. We had been standing up there for a good thirty minutes when a group of girls come up there and one of them starts getting an attitude with me and says I'm gonna get you kicked out of here b/c I know the owner. You are not supposed to be up here, this is V.I.P. section. I said there is nothing saying I can't be up here so I'm not leaving. She gets all up in my face and says she is going to kick my a$$. Next thing I know some bouncer deusche bag comes up there and escorts me out. Everything happened so fast and once I got outside I pleaded my case to the other security, but of course they wanted nothing to do with me. Really left a bad taste in my mouth about that place. I will never return. So **** Skybar too. That establishment does have a reputation if I remember correctly for being shady.

[vatz22au 142]

Speaking of Highlands...

Had a friend playing pool there, and spilt a couple of drops of his beer on the pool table. He just wiped it up with his shirt and we all kept playing pool. About 5 minutes later, the bouncer comes up to my friend, claiming that he has ruined the pool table, and that he has to pay $120 to fix it.

I told my bud not to pay it and walk out, but the bouncer refused to even let us leave until he paid the amount. My friend is the type to not start a fight, so he paid it... ended up going over his limit in his checking account... and basically was screwed money wise for the next couple of weeks.