Liquor License Suspension, $30,000 Fine for Dean & DeLuca

The bright placard on the front door told the tale: upscale Georgetown grocery Dean & DeLuca’s liquor license is suspended through May 7 for illegal liquor sales.

The D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration cited the store, located at 3276 M St. NW, on April 3 for providing alcohol to a minor on Aug. 28, 2018. Accordingly, ABRA fined Dean & DeLuca $30,000 and suspended its liquor license for 35 days, noting that the fancy-food market had been cited four times in four years for selling alcohol to minors.

Founded in 1977 in the SoHo neighborhood of New York, Dean & DeLuca opened on M Street in 1993 — the first franchise outside New York City. The Georgetown location has been the site of a market of one sort or another for about 200 years.

Today, Dean & DeLuca, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, boasts stores and cafes from California to Singapore and Qatar. It is owned by Pace Development, a Thai luxury development company.