Lake Hayes restaurant Graze will know in two weeks if its on-licence and manager’s certificate have been suspended or cancelled following a January incident in which a man was injured.
The Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority (Arla) reserved its decision after a hearing in Queenstown this week.
Graze owner Hamish Macpherson accepted the bar breached the liquor laws by allowing intoxicated people to remain on the premises, but denied allegations people were allowed to become intoxicated and disorderly conduct had been permitted on the premises.
Acting on his behalf and for manager Daniel Cook, counsel Tanya Surrey submitted the incident was "very much a one-off".
Unexpected customer numbers after the cancelled UB40 concert, when staff were off with illness contributed to a situation during which a man fell during a scuffle and was seriously injured, she said.
At the hospital the victim and his associate were deemed intoxicated, while another woman, in the outside area, had also been intoxicated when they arrived at the scene.
Ms Surrey said the police had failed to prove to the required standard intoxication and disorderly behaviour had been allowed to occur.
"This is not an out-of-control booze barn, it’s a suburban licensed premises that has had a bad day and they’ve already paid the price."
She said it was open to the authority to follow a precedent set in October 2014, when Arla adjourned an application to suspend the on-licence for The Boiler Room, owned by Future Bars, for 12 months to give the owners time to put effective measures in place after four or five incidents in less than a year.
