A popular Towson pizza shop?s license to deliver alcohol has been revoked after a 17-year-old college student who had a fifth of vodka delivered nearly died.
Pizans Pizza on York Road was recently cited twice for delivering booze to underage students? doorsteps, officials said. The county?s liquor board on Monday permanently revoked Pizans? right to deliver alcohol ? hoping to send a stern message to the county?s 30 other alcohol delivery license holders.
“The board simply isn?t going to tolerate this,” said board Chairman Thomas Minkin. “It just has to happen once, and the next thing you know, 18,000 kids know about it and it happens again.”
A Pizans delivery driver recently failed to card an undercover police cadet who ordered alcohol from the University Village apartment complex, officials said.
And, during a 2-1/2 hour hearing before the liquor board Monday, a 17-year-old student testified she ordered a fifth of vodka from Pizans. She used a falsified driver?s license and wound up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning, Minkin said. The same delivery driver was responsible for both incidents, which he called isolated, and was fired immediately, said Pizans owner Jimy Kosmakos.
Some students agreed the problem isn?t widespread. Frank Petrucci, a junior at Towson University, said he recently saw two underage students denied alcohol at Pizans. But county lawmakers said the liquor board?s actions are encouraging. Ellen Kobler, a county spokeswoman, called the revocation a “quality of life” issue.
“It takes everyone working together to make our neighborhoods safe and secure,” Kobler said.
