The police successfully applied for the suspension at an Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority (Arla) hearing in Queenstown on November 29.
Judge Kevin Kelly and member Judith Moorhead heard evidence from three Wanaka police officers about four incidents at the bar since August last year.
They involved officers being confronted by a drunk male patron who became "belligerent and argumentative", an assault of the bar’s general manager by a father and son, a fight in the bar while the duty manager was working on his own, an ‘‘obnoxious and unco-operative’’ drunk female patron and a staff member who was tasked with checking patrons at the door despite not being certified to work in a door security role.
In his written decision, Judge Kelly said that of the four incidents, the hearing panel was satisfied there was only one, on August 10, for which the police had presented sufficient evidence and for which there was no defence.
On that occasion, the licensee breached the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act by allowing the intoxicated woman to remain on the premises.
Although video evidence produced by the bar’s owner, Daniel Taiaroa, showed she was only served one shot, Mr Taiaroa had accepted she was intoxicated as a result of "pre-loading" — in this case, by drinking a bottle of wine outside the bar.
He also accepted a police officer had noticed the woman’s state of intoxication before a staff member intervened.
"She was served a glass of water at the request of her friend, at which point staff ought to have taken more time to properly assess her condition, especially given it is acknowledged that she was starting to show signs of intoxication at that time."
Judge Kelly said the fact police had visited the bar more than 100 times since last year indicated it was a "higher risk premises" than others in the town.
However, he commended Mr Taiaroa for "wanting to have an open and constructive relationship with the police, and to demonstrate improvements in the management of its premises".
The bar’s licence will be suspended from 8am on January 18 to 8am on January 20.
La La Land is an upstairs venue in Ardmore St, with capacity for 50 patrons. Mr Taiaroa also owns Queenstown’s Bungalow bar and another bar in Christchurch.
