Police arrest three in Bagel Basement Friday
Residents seeking to buy bagels at Bagel Basement found the restaurant closed throughout the weekend.
By Ben Nunnery, The Dartmouth Staff
Published on Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Local Hanover restaurant Bagel Basement was closed because of health concerns by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services early Friday morning after Hanover Police discovered five intoxicated teenagers asleep on the premises. After apprehending the teenagers, Hanover Police contacted Hanover Deputy Health Inspector Carolyn Murray who, in conjunction with her state-level counterpart, determined that the local restaurant should remain closed until the completion of a full health inspection.
Bagel Basement, located on Allen Street in Hanover, will reopen today.
Three of the teenagers, who are 17-years-old, were charged as adults with unlawful possession of alcohol and marijuana. The other two perpetrators were taken into custody. More charges may still be brought against the teenagers or the establishment in the coming days, Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone said.
"The teenagers have present and past connections to Bagel Basement," Giaccone said, adding that he did not know the exact relationship.
The investigation began when Hanover Police discovered that a door leading to Bagel Basement had been left ajar while doing security checks Friday morning at approximately 4:40 a.m., Giaccone said. Upon entering the premises, officers observed the five teenagers asleep in the store. One of the suspects had constructed a makeshift mattress from several 50-pound bags of flour. Officers reported obvious signs of past alcohol and drug use near the kitchen area.
When police awoke the individual sleeping on the flour, the individual instigated an altercation with officers, Giaccone said. It took the combined efforts of Hanover Police officers and an officer called from the Lebanon Police Department to subdue the individual, according to Giaccone.
Basement Holdings, Inc. owns Bagel Basement, according to the New Hampshire Secretary of State's office. The corporation's president, Jennifer Black, did not return multiple calls for comment on Monday.
During the investigation, police noted several possible health-code violations in the establishment. A subsequent health inspection gave the restaurant a failing score of 67 out of 100 possible points, according to Rupa Laverdiere of the New Hampshire Department of Public Health Service, Food Protection Section. A passing score is 70 with no "critical items."
Bagel Basement has since corrected several "critical items," which included the flour bags that were in questionable condition after being slept on, open products that might have been cross-contaminated, sanitizers that were too strong and the ajar back door.
On Tuesday, the restaurant passed inspection with a score of 88 out of 100, Laverdiere said.
"All of these critical items were corrected on-site, raising the score to an acceptable level," Laverdiere said. "All other point deductions were just minor clean-up items the inspector observed."
Each critical item subtracts four or five points from the overall score, while other issues subtract one, two or three, Laverdiere said.
Murray, who conducted the July 4 inspection, did not return multiple calls for comment by press time.
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