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What Is The "Grace Period" Allowed For An Intoxicated Customer To Finish Any Remaining Liquor On His/her Table After Liquor Service Has Been Stopped?

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Ian John answered
There is no clear, legally-defined amount of time that states a specific duration or 'grace period' that any customer has to finish any remaining liquor on their table after they have been refused service.

Instead, the 'grace period' allowed can be dependent upon a variety of factors including:
  • the rules and regulations of the establishment that the customer is drinking in
  • the time of the day that the incident occurs
  • the attitude and behavior of the customer in question.
Some establishments clearly display a list of house rules for sensible drinking, which should include clear guidelines of the procedure to follow should a customer drink too much and become intoxicated. These rules can include a stated 'grace period' in which the customer has a set amount of time to finish their drink before leaving the premises.

Another factor is the time of day this occurs. If the bar has stopped serving liquor because it is closing time, once again it would be an idea to clearly display how much time people have to finish their drinks before leaving, and to politely remind them before this expires that the bar will be closing within a period of time, for example the next five minutes.

The biggest factor in denying service to a customer however is likely to be their behavior due to being drunk. If a customer is being congenial, polite and well-mannered, the owner of the establishment or bar manager can decide on a fair amount of time to finish their drink before asking them to leave.

On the other hand, if the drinker is being loud, aggressive or abusive, then the bar manager has the right to deny them service and ask for them to leave the premises immediately, regardless of how much of their drink they have remaining. If the customer becomes aggressive or abusive as a result, then the appropriate authorities should be contacted immediately to deal with the offender.

In short, with no clearly defined amount of time stated legally, the grace period is very much down to the bar owner to decide and that factor can be dependent on the issues listed above.

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