In Boulder, a city where liquor establishments are plentiful and alcohol abuse ranks among the chief concerns, police are now asking drunken-driving suspects where they had their last drink.
Those answers are providing a window into the city’s problem spots for booze. And bar owners and managers say they are cautiously optimistic that the data can be used to help establishments determine whether their existing programs to combat drunken driving are doing any good.
“We’re just trying to really make it positive,” said Mark Karpowich, the owner of Harpo’s Sports Grill and the head of the city’s Responsible Hospitality Group. “Nobody wants to be associated with DUIs and having their name on a list.”
Indeed, the new effort, known as the “last drink” program, may represent something of a truce between the city and its alcohol establishments.
After a string of high-profile incidents involving alcohol, including the death of a University of Colorado student, Boulder and CU officials began looking for new ways to control alcohol abuse. Some bar owners complained the city was singling them out for punishment.
The last-drink program, though, has met with little public outcry.
“I definitely think it’s a pretty good program,” said Brett Berger, whose Thunderbird Burgers restaurant didn’t have any offenders peg it as their last-drink spot. “It brings up awareness of places that possibly might not be controlling things as well as other businesses.”
In data collected from January through October of last year, 177 DUI offenders said they had their last drink at their home, a friend’s house or a party. But 274 people said they had their last drink at a bar or restaurant.
The bars with the most offenders on the list are some of Boulder’s most popular: the Bustop Gentlemen’s Club, The Foundry, The Sundown Saloon.
The general manager of the Catacombs, which had 16 people identify it as their last-drink spot, said that his bar works hard to stop people from driving drunk but that it is difficult to do when the bar can serve up to 1,000 people on a busy weekend night.
“If I can’t convince somebody to take a cab, I will call Boulder PD,” said the bar’s general manager, who gave his name only as Bode. “I’d rather we show up on that list than we show up in the newspaper because somebody got into an accident.”
Kevin Burke, Boulder’s deputy city manager, said city leaders don’t intend to use the data to punish bar owners.
“We’re trying to use the data in a more proactive, intervention-type role,” he said.
The Responsible Hospitality Group recently met with the bars with the most last-drink offenders to talk about ways to stop more people from driving drunk.
Shortly after the meeting, the Bustop decided to start a shuttle service to take home people who drank too much.
“We said, look, we just want to get people together to help the community,” Karpowich said. “We don’t want to put people out on the streets who are intoxicated.”
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
