Southbridge Board Sets Hearing After Bar's Bartender Arrested for Drinking on Duty

Other Committee · Meeting of February 26, 2026

Southbridge's Licensing Board scheduled a public hearing for Mocky's Bar & Grill after police placed the bar's sole on-duty bartender into protective custody for intoxication during his own shift. The town's liquor agent read a February 25 police report by Officer Jonathan Delgado documenting the 1:55 a.m. call to 61 Chestnut Street, where bartender Robert Marlnaise was found arguing with customers, smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech and bloodshot eyes, and later admitted in a holding cell to consuming multiple shots during his shift. No manager or security personnel were present — the same deficiencies flagged at a prior August hearing that the bar's representative had promised to correct.

"In over 20 years of doing this, not once can I recall us having to take a bartender out and place a bartender in custody for intoxication," the liquor agent told the board. The unanimous vote sets the hearing for March 26, where sanctions up to license revocation are on the table.

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Source: the Other Committee meeting of February 26, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.