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Several months after the death of a patron, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) issued a notice seeking a 60-day liquor licence suspension for St. Louis Bar & Grill.
The unnamed patron died in April 2026 after falling down the stairs at the Toronto bar’s midtown location, where, according to AGCO’s investigation, he had been served the equivalent of 21 standard drinks in under five hours.
“I start looking at people sideways when it’s more than six standard drinks,” said Sage Victoria George, a Toronto server, as she thought about that circumstance. “I can’t even imagine the mindset of getting to 21 [drinks].”
George said her workplace management wouldn’t allow a guest to be overserved, but at past establishments, her bosses prioritized profits above guest safety.
“It was more like, ‘Serve them. If they’re going to pay for the drink, then why am I going to stop serving them?’” she said.
The AGCO, which regulates alcohol, gaming, horse racing and cannabis, has approximately 17,600 active liquor sales licences across the province and their Investigation and Enforcement Bureau employs approximately 135 inspectors. However, there is no published requirement for a minimum number of inspections per year.
Inspectors ensure licensed establishments comply with Ontario liquor laws and that all waitstaff have completed the AGCO board-approved training known as Smart Serve.
“No amount of server training is going to do a lot of good unless it is backed up by clear management policies,” said Robert Solomon, a law professor at Western University.
Solomon says that while Ontario’s liquor service laws are incredibly strict, they’re not enforced enough.
Smart Serve training modules teach Ontario liquor laws and educate servers and bartenders on how to ensure guest safety. The certification expires every five years, requiring servers to complete the training all over again.
“I feel like a lot can happen in five years,” said Shania Catubay, another Toronto server.
Catubay said she believes certification should be renewed every three years instead and that on-the-job experience is just as important as formal training.
“The best practice isn’t an exam, but more so like hands-on practice,” she said.
Catubay said understaffing is another challenge for servers trying to monitor guests because when restaurants are understaffed, servers often have to take on additional responsibilities, leaving them less focused on their tables.
“Sometimes you’re so caught up in the chaos when you’re understaffed that you kind of don’t realize what’s going on,” said Anesa Sum, a Toronto bartender.
Sum said customers sometimes buy drinks for friends who have already been cut off, making it harder for staff to monitor their alcohol consumption.
“It’s our liquor licence that gets put on the line if we overserve a guest,” Sum said.
But customers don’t always make that responsibility easy.
“It’s very easy for men to come up to us and be like, ‘Oh, we’re fine. We can take more than we can handle,’” Catubay said.
She said intoxicated guests can put servers in uncomfortable situations when they insist on being served more alcohol.
“Now we’re dealing with grown men that are intoxicated, and you don’t know what they’re capable of,” she said.
Catubay said she turns to a manager when a guest becomes argumentative or aggressive after being cut off.
“If we didn’t have Smart Serve, we probably would have a lot more accidents like the one we’ve had recently,” said Frederic Dimanche, a hospitality professor at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Dimanche said Smart Serve effectively teaches employees the fundamentals of responsible alcohol service, including recognizing intoxication and knowing when to stop serving.
But he said certification alone isn’t enough to prevent over-serving.
“It’s not only up to Smart Serve to do it,” he said. “If I’m an owner of an establishment, I want to make sure that my staff is not only properly trained but reminded on a regular basis about their responsibilities.”
For Dimanche, the five-year renewal is only the starting point.
“Once every five years, certification, perfect. You know, people know the basics. But then it’s up to the manager to continue the training,” he said.
While tips can give some servers an incentive to keep serving customers, Dimanche said guest safety should come first.
“It’s all about risk management,” he said. “Risk management for the customer first, and then risk management for me as a server and for my establishment.”
Reporter, OTR, F2026.
Reporter, OTR, F2026.
