A TGI Friday’s franchise was fined $500,000 for serving customers cheap booze instead of the top shelf spirits they ordered. Along with the fine, the franchise won’t contest the accusations against it.
Authorities say that 13 restaurants owned by Briad Restaurant Group in New Jersey were raided by investigators in May over the allegations.
The Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control seized about 250 bottles of liquor from the TGI Fridays restaurants as part of “Operation Swill,” reports USA Today.
New Jersey Attorney General John J. Hoffman released a statement about the case, saying, “Briad’s restaurants were scamming customers by serving them a cheap substitute for what they ordered.”
Hoffman added that the fine should send a message to every bar and restaurant in the state that customers should always get what they pay for, including top shelf booze, notes Fox News.
Under the settlement terms, Briad won’t contest the allegations. They will also employ a state-appointed monitor to assure restaurants and employees comply with the order. As long as no further violations are seen, the restaurants will not face five-day suspensions of their liquor licenses.
The crackdown on “Operation Swill” began in January and February when investigators went to 63 area restaurants and asked for their drinks without ice, water, or any mixer. However, instead of doing a taste test, the investigators used a true spirit authenticator to find out if they got what they ordered.
If the numbers didn’t match up, it was sent to the brand manufacturers and tested more. They discovered surprising short-cuts, including one case where a bottle was filled with a mix of rubbing alcohol and caramel coloring so it appeared to be scotch whiskey.
While 13 TGI Fridays restaurants were investigated, only eight of them were charged. While there was no word on what the establishment substituted for its top-shelf spirits, one investigator called it “simply substitution” and not something outrageous.
