Salinas restaurant has alcohol license suspended after minor’s death

A Monterey County restaurant is paying the price for serving alcohol to a minor who died in a car crash that same night. It happened in January of last year.

Just under a year ago a minor died in a single-car accident after leaving a Salinas restaurant he was having drinks at.

Today the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control suspended the alcohol license of Tacos Acambaro on East Alvin Drive in Salinas. Effective immediately, the restaurant will not be allowed to sell alcohol for 30 days when the suspension is set to end. On the night of January 29th, 2017, 20-year old Abraham Requena went out with other underage friends and were served beer at Tacos Acambaro. Requena left in his own car while intoxicated and was involved in a single-car accident that took his life.

“Salinas Police department responded to the crash, and then what happens is an ABC agent, once they learned there is a young person and there is alcohol as a contributing factor, then the ABC agent will try and put the pieces together and say well where did the alcohol come from? And that’s how we concluded this information,” said John Carr with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

ABC says Tacos Acambaro will still be able to sell food, but won’t be able to serve alcohol, which they say is a stiff penalty for restaurants or other businesses that serve alcohol regularly.

We reached out to the Monterey County District Attorney’s office as well as the Requena family lawyer to find out if any criminal charges would be filed against the restaurant or employees that served the minors the alcohol.