Hearing for Underage Drinking Allegations at Pittsfield Bar Continued Again
PITTSFIELD, Mass.— The Licensing Board again continued a hearing for alleged underage service at a local bar.
Chair Thomas Campoli said a determination will be made at the June 29 meeting.
A hearing for Zuke's Soups and Variety LLC, doing business as Bei Tempi, was continued for the third time on Monday after the panel watched security footage from the night a mother says her 19-year-old was drinking at the establishment.
Bei Tempi has been accused of underage service by two different parents in the past year, and promised to run IDs through an authenticator to ensure their patrons are of age.
"You've been here before us before. One of the things that you were putting in place was the machine to check the IDs. You see the video, it's not busy that time, and he's not checking the IDs with the machine; it's bothersome to me," board member Kathy Amuso said to the owners.
"…It's highly unusual for a mom to come before us and say my daughter's been in this bar multiple times drinking, and she's underage."
Earlier this year, Police Capt. Matthew Hill received a call from an upset parent about her 19-year-old daughter patronizing Iztac Mexican Restaurant at night and being served.
Those photos resulted in a two-week liquor license suspension for Iztac, and the same mother submitted an almost identical complaint about Bei Tempi, accompanied by photos.
The mother wished for her and her daughter to remain anonymous, but spoke at the hearing.
"My daughter had started drinking and hanging out with friends, and I had seen her car at Bei Tempe a couple times, and then I was on social media, I believe it was Snapchat, and it was a live picture, and she was inside the bar," she said.
"So after I reached out to Captain Hill, I started following her on a Friday, I think it was Friday or Saturday night, and she ended up at Bei Tempe. Her and her friend, same age, 19, they went inside Bei Tempe. I waited about 10 minutes, and I went inside Bates, and I got carded, and my daughters didn't."
She later said that her daughter does not have a hard copy of her driver's license, and appears not to have a fake ID because she can't buy alcohol from the store.
Four pictures were provided to the board, one of which shows the owner, Richard Zucco, in the background. Surveillance footage did not cover the front door or bar area, but the 19-year-old was seen holding what her mother described as a vodka-cranberry, and she is seen entering the bar and taking pictures.
Owner Elizabeth Zucco swore they card everyone who is not a senior, and that night's doorman was positive and then "pretty confident" that the girls' IDs were checked before entering. Zucco said they check every ID now with the machine, which takes about three minutes per ID to scan.
"If they look underage, I make sure to scan it and check the face, and both of them matched," the doorman said.
"Why I didn't scan it that night is because I'm pretty sure I've seen them before."
Because surveillance didn't show the bar area where her drink was made, the Licensing Board requested receipts from that night to see if anyone ordered just juice or soda in the approximately half-hour timeframe.
The mother estimated that her daughter had been caught at the bar about ten times from September 2025 to January.
"We're trying to say to you that Bei Tempe does what they're required to do, which is card people," Attorney Ken Ferris said.
"If people have fake IDs, I don't know what they can do about that, and their position is that there was a fake ID that these girls got in."
Board member Jon Lifvergren reminded Zucco that she assured this would not happen, and "it seems like it may have happened numerous times." Zucco retorted that she assured to the best of her ability.
"It seems like she was definitely of age. It didn't alarm me or my husband," she said.
Last year, a different mother approached the Licensing Board asking for accountability after her underage child was allegedly served at Bei Tempi. After drinking at a graduation party, she said her 18-year-old son became further intoxicated at the establishment before returning home late and becoming combative, resulting in an arrest by police.
That report was dismissed after the claimant failed to show up for the final hearing.
Tags: license board, underage drinking,
