City officials have indefinitely suspended the liquor license of The Draft Bar and Grille in Allston after repeated findings that underage patrons were drinking inside the bar, including a separate enforcement action by state regulators earlier this year.
At a voting hearing on Thursday, the Boston Licensing Board unanimously voted to indefinitely suspend the bar’s license following an October inspection in which police found three patrons under 21 in possession of alcohol.
Board members sharply criticized the bar’s management. Licensing Board member Keeana Saxon said the owner had “shown that he is not fit for this license, another license, any license.”
Another member, Liam Curran, said “It seems like business is tough and he [the owner] might be deliberately catering to underage clientele.”
The Draft, located at 34 Harvard Ave., is operated by Metro Dining Inc., whose owner and registered agent is Derek Brady. Brady did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
During the hearing, board members said the bar was already serving a suspension imposed by state regulators stemming from a February incident.
According to a Nov. 13 decision by the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, investigators inspected The Draft on Feb. 14, 2025, and found nine underage patrons in possession of alcohol, including beer, hard seltzer, and mixed drinks.
Several underage patrons used fraudulent out-of-state driver’s licenses to gain entry, while at least one underage patron told investigators she presented her true identification to gain entrance and was still found with alcohol.
Investigators also found the bar’s ID scanner was not functioning during the February inspection, according to the ABCC decision. At a state hearing in April, Brady testified that the scanner was “now working and in use.”
But at a separate evidentiary hearing on Tuesday, Brady testified that the bar’s ID scanner broke in March 2025 and had not been replaced.
“It’s expensive to replace, we haven’t taken any steps,” Brady said.
“College kids have excellent fake IDs, and it’s tough to spot them without the machine,” Brady also told the board.
Licensing Board member Kathleen Joyce said she was troubled by what she described as a “laid-back attitude” toward management failures at the bar, calling the situation “egregious.”
“I’m not sure people are safe going into his establishments,” Joyce said, adding that Brady showed “a lack of appreciation for what goes into keeping people safe.”
Board members said the indefinite suspension could be lifted if the license is transferred to a new operator, or if the owner returns to the board for a hearing to seek reinstatement under new conditions.
Nathan Metcalf can be reached at nathan.metcalf@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram @natpat_123.