Crime & Safety

Brunswick Grove Among 29 Alleged to Have Used Non-Premium Alcohol

Wednesday's request was part of a year-long investigation. The Grove allegedly served non-premium alcohol and charged premium prices.

The Brunswick Grove is one of 29 licensed bars throughout the state that were served demands for records by the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) and the Division of Criminal Justice for serving non-premium brand alcohol in premium brand bottles, Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa announced on Wednesday, May 22.

The request for records is part of a year-long investigation of the alleged substitutions.

According to Chiesa, the restaurants and bars would fill empty premium brand bottles with non-premium brand alcohol, and serve them to customers, who believed they were drinking the premium brands listed on the bottles.

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Over 100 state investigators participated in “Operation Swill,” the result of information provided to the ABC by customer complaints, confidential informants and technology used to test samples taken covertly from the establishments by ABC detectives.

The following establishments were targeted in Operation Swill: Railroad Café, East Rutherford; The Brick House, Wycoff; Sunset Tavern, Burlington; Graziano’s Ristorante, Chesilhurst; Villari’s Lakeside, Gloucester Township; Yesterdays, Marmora; TGI Fridays, West Orange; Italian Affair, Glassboro; Bells Tavern, Lambertville; TGI Fridays, East Windsor; Brunswick Grove, East Brunswick; TGI Fridays, Old Bridge; TGI Fridays, North Brunswick; TGI Fridays, Piscataway; TGI Fridays, Freehold; TGI Fridays, Marlboro; TGI Fridays, Hazlet; Murray’s, Dover; TGI Fridays, East Hanover; Sona Thirteen, Morristown; Blackthorn Restaurant, Parsippany; Ruby Tuesday, Bridgewater; TGI Fridays, Linden; Café 34, Matawan; Applebee’s, Kearny; Cucina Calandara, Fairfield; TGI Fridays, Woodridge; TGI Fridays, Springfield; TGI Fridays, Clifton.

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