State not real happy with Allston club over underage drinking

Garage, part of the Russian Benevolent Society complex on Linden Street, next week begins the second of its third state-ordered shutdowns this year for a series of incidents in which investigators found underage drinkers enjoying adult beverages they got with fake driver's licenses.

The state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission ordered the society - once a quiet place where Russian emigres gathered on weekends for a drink with old friends, but now also a club that makes regular appearances before city and state licensing boards - to close between May 10 and May 19 for an incident in April of 2016.

State liquor investigators reported finding four people between 18 and 20 with champagne and vodka cranberry drinks at Garage, which bills itself as "Allston's #1 nightclub."

One had a fake Argentine driver's license, but said he'd never had to show it since he was a regular, according to an investigator's report. The 18-year-old, who had a fake Rhode Island license, whined to investigators it was unfair they were picking on her because "there were people in the establishment who were 16."

The report notes that investigators called Uber cars to transport the kids home and demanded the club manager do the same for "several youthful appearing individuals who displayed signs of intoxication, including falling down," but who did not have drinks in their hands.

Earlier, the commission had ordered the society to shut between April 12 and April 27 for a Sept. 11 incident involving seven drinkers between 18 and 20, all of whom were observed mixed vodka drinks and all of whom had "false" driver's licenses.

The club faces an additional three-day suspension next month because of another incident in April 2016, in which investigators found an 18-year-old with a Corona Light and a fake Maryland license.

All three of the suspensions have additional shutdown times should the club get in trouble again over the next couple of years.