USA: State revokes liquor license from Yakima Brewing & Malting Co resulting in restaurant and bar closing

After the state barred Yakima Brewing & Malting Co. from serving beer and employing workers by revoking its liquor license and industrial insurance coverage certificate, the restaurant and bar has closed Yakima Herald reported on December 3.

Yakima brewery ceased paying its insurance premiums to the state Department Labor and Industry in late 2004 and currently owes more than $32,000. The revocation means the company cannot legally employ anybody.

"We had delayed revoking the certificate because we like to work with employers, and they promised they were going to pay. But they did not bring their account up to date," said Robert Nelson, spokesman for the agency.

The liquor license of the company was suspended indefinitely on December 1 in the morning, according to a sign posted at the pub. The pub's closure is the latest round in a swirl of questions surrounding the company's struggles.

Previously last year, the state began investigating the company's private stock offering. Last December, the pub was forced to relocate to Glenwood Square after being evicted from its longtime home on North Front Street. In October, the company's 20,000-square-foot brewery at 1803 Presson Place closed, and Tranum was fined $7,500 for violating Washington state securities laws in October.

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