Lety’s only open since August; could lose liquor license

Before he was arrested on charges of drunken driving, a man leaving Lety’s Sports Bar and Grill Feb. 12 tried running down pedestrians in the vicinity, according to a Mount Prospect complaint.

It is maybe the most egregious, but by no means the only, complaint against Lety’s which opened only last August at 1827 W. Algonquin Road.

In the past few months, the bar’s owner, Jesus Rosales, has been cited for serving intoxicated persons, failing to report a fight and permitting the consumption of alcoholic beverages not purchased on site.

At a hearing Tuesday, Mount Prospect Mayor Irvana Wilks, in her role as village liquor commissioner, suspended the bar’s liquor license.

At the next hearing March 8, Wilks will decide if the bar’s license should be permanently revoked.

“It’s a privilege, not a right, for restaurants to have a liquor license,” Wilks said. “If they can’t control the establishment and people are being overserved, they are a danger to the community. We have a responsibility to look into that.”

Rosales attended the hearing, officials said. Attempts by a reporter to reach him afterward were unsuccessful, and the phone to his bar has been disconnected.

Rosales’ liquor license was suspended from Nov. 12 to 15 and he was fined $700 for serving alcohol to intoxicated people, Wilks said.

According to the most recent Mount Prospect complaint, another fight broke out on Dec. 23 when one Lety’s customer hit another customer in the head with a pool cue. Mount Prospect police weren’t contacted, according to the complaint.

On Feb. 5, a security guard broke up another fight that ended when a man said he was going to get his gun. The man said he drank 15 beers at Lety’s and was arrested on charges of drunken driving later that night.

The Feb. 12 incident with the drunken driver allegedly trying to run people over was the last straw, Wilks said.

“The police have had to respond to that establishment or the establishment’s parking lot a number of times,” she said. “I felt it was necessary to have a hearing to protect the safety of the people in Mount Prospect.”

Lety’s serves hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza and shows international sports games, according to paperwork filed with the village.