A Chula Vista restaurant's liquor license was suspended Friday after state officials said a 20-year-old man was served alcohol at the business just before he died in a solo vehicle crash.
The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control said 20-year-old Jonathan Ortiz Zaragoza was "repeatedly served alcohol" at Las Tres Cantrinas without his ID ever being checked.
Ortiz Zaragoza died in a crash after leaving the restaurant on Jan. 16, 2022.
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A subsequent investigation into how he obtained alcohol led to ABC filing disciplinary action against the restaurant.
An ABC news release states Las Tres Cantrinas agreed to a 30-day suspension of its license. If any other violations occur over the next year, the restaurant's liquor license could be revoked permanently.
Las Tres Cantrinas' liquor license will be reinstated on June 15.
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"We do our best to make sure all of our employees are trained and in this case our bartenders were trained and certified but unfortunately, they didn’t follow the rules that night and they decided to serve a young man," said Rene Reynoso, Co-Owner of Las Tres Cantrinas.
"It’s tough. It will affect business but we understand no mother should lose their child, so there was a process, there was a procedure and I believe there’s a lot of blame to go around," Reynoso said.
But he also understands it will be even tougher for the Zaragoza family and he wants to help.
NBC 7 reached out to the Zaragoza family but they did not return our request for comment.
"Preventing underage drinking is a public safety priority," said ABC Director Eric Hirata. "We want to remind licensees to check IDs carefully to help keep our youth and communities safe."
