Quality Mart on Massachusetts Avenue carries groceries, coffee, and even has a full-service deli. But the deli isn’t what students go for…it’s the alcohol. Quality Mart was known for it’s reputation of selling to minors with fake ID’s. It is even featured in Boston University’s Bunion article, “Quality Mart Cashier Accepts CVS Card as Valid 21+ ID”, for its lenient ways.
Unfortunately for underage booze-fanatics, the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) found out about their lenient ways too. They kicked off their “Operation Safe Spring” campaign in Back Bay the weekend of St. Patricks Day. The operation is a statewide effort to decrease the amount of underage drinking. They began this campaign slyly by staking out at the Quality Mart for three consecutive evenings beginning Thursday, March 16.
According to a press release, officials confiscated 49 cases of beer and 134 bottles of alcoholic beverages. The majority of the those who bought drinks were college students ranging from ages 18-20. Out of the 122 underage kids who bought alcohol, 112 used fake identification cards, all of which were confiscated.
The 122 minors who were caught, along with all other minors who weren’t caught, are going to have to find a new liquor store. Quality Mart won’t be selling liquor, but they’ll be at court for a number of citations (that are still being calculated). So, what’s going to be the next Quality Mart? Will the officers continue to play catch up with these underage drinkers? Or will their campaign really work?