After being caught twice last year serving alcohol to underage students, The Stein restaurant opted to participate in a new statewide program designed to prevent alcohol sales to minors and intoxicated persons. The Stein was given a choice at its June hearing with the Waltham License Commission of either losing its liquor license for up to six days or paying for its employees to be trained by personnel from Affiliated Monitors, Inc., an alcohol abuse prevention agency, Head of University Services Mark Collins said.

Masha Dobrovinskaya '08, who has been a waitress at The Stein for one year, said Stein Manager Jeff Muthersbaugh told the wait staff at the first mandatory training Monday evening that he will fire anyone who "fails to comply with the new policy."

This new policy includes only accepting in-state licenses, Dobrovinskaya said. If a customer doesn't own a Massachusetts license, the server will check a register's list first to see if the customer attends Brandeis and whether he or she is 21 or older.

"Even if it's a professor and you know that person, even if they look 50, we still have to ask them," Dobrovinskaya said. "A lot of people don't like that but we can't really afford to make that type of mistake again."

After an initial police-compliance check caught The Stein serving alcohol to underage customers last November, the campus restaurant received only a warning from the License Commission. But after the restaurant was cited for a second violation in May, the License Commission suspended its liquor license for two days.

Although the "Training for Intervention Procedures" program costs around $2,000, Collins said it's well worth it to keep The Stein's liquor license protected and to prevent minors from drinking.

"It's the cheapest investment you can make right now," Collins said. "It was a case of looking at which one was going to be better for us, and I think this one will be."

Vincent DiCianni, the president of Affiliated Monitors, said the program educates managers, waitstaff and bartenders about regulations and practices to avoid putting the license at risk, such as carding customers both at the door and at the bar.

The program also includes "mystery buys," much like alcohol stings, in which police send in minors at random in order to see whether sales staff check identification or serve alcohol.

"Taking this option . in my mind was the thing that would give us the best chance of not losing [the liquor license] again, because it's more meaningful rather than just a suspension," Collins said. "You've got to put some work into this program."

The training and compliance checks will continue until The Stein has a "solid program," he said.

Other area establishments that failed compliance checks recently, including Gordon's Liquors, Asia Buffet, Compania Trattoria, The Elephant Walk, Waltham Sports Pub, Hilton Garden Inn, Tempo Restaurant and Michael's Wines, were also given the option of participating in the training program, the License Commission's secretary Mary Ellen Hill said.

Unlike these other businesses, The Stein sells relatively little alcohol, so a license suspension is not hugely important, Collins said.

"Their motivation for opting for the program may be very different than mine," Collins said. "They've got to pay the rent."

Gordon's and the Waltham Sports Pub decided not to participate just yet, their managers said. Waltham Sports Pub may participate in a year though, a manager added.



Rachel Marder contributed to this article.