Tempe's "freshman bar" could lose its license
Tempe Tavern's Last Call? State Moves to Pull the Plug
The Tempe Tavern saga just got a whole lot more serious. The Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control has released a bombshell report recommending the immediate and permanent revocation of the bar's liquor license, calling the East Valley institution a "clear and present danger to the community."
The nearly 300-page investigation — one of the most extensive in DLLC history — lays out 11 categories of violations stemming from multiple raids at the Apache Boulevard bar, less than three miles from Arizona State University. Between two massive busts in April and November 2025, more than 420 underage patrons were arrested or cited, making those operations among the largest enforcement actions the agency has ever conducted.
The report paints a damning picture of what investigators describe as a deliberate "pay-to-enter" scheme, where underage patrons allegedly paid a small fee to slip past security without showing ID. In one interview, an ASU student estimated that roughly 95% of the people inside on a given night were under 21. The bar had apparently earned the campus nickname "the freshman bar" — not exactly a designation management should be proud of.
The hit-and-run connection looms large over the report. Forensic phone records and subpoenaed data placed 19-year-old Ava Bellowe inside the bar for several hours before she allegedly struck and killed motorcyclist Joseph Gonzalez in September. Text messages showed her entering through a "chill bouncer" entrance and making purchases at the bar that night.
Tempe Tavern isn't going quietly. Attorneys fired back, noting the bar received a 100% score on its liquor inspection the night of the November raid and had not been cited by DLLC for that visit. They accused regulators of leaking the report to the media before providing it to the bar — a potential public records law violation.
The matter now heads to an Administrative Law Judge, and the State Liquor Board has final say. For now, the bar can remain open while proceedings play out. But the odds are looking longer by the day.