Merced bar shut down

The sign at Carolyn's Place has already been taken down.  The owner prepared for what was going to happen.  As Alcoholic Beverage Control officers post the notice, neighbors and customers look on in disbelief.

“That's bull,” said Chris Aguilar, a longtime customer.

Aguilar says reports that marijuana and meth were sold inside are false.

“It wasn't a place to buy drugs.  It was a place to see friends, play horseshoes,” said Aguilar.

ABC says it sent in undercover officers after complaints came in last summer.  They found people, including a bartender, selling drugs inside.  The bartender was arrested back in July by the Merced Police Department.

“Once you see illegal activity, who knows where those things lead.  So we jump on it, put the kybosh on it,” said John Carr, public information officer for ABC.

Carolyn's Place became a neighborhood hangout over the last decade.  The bar owner’s friends, customers and employees say the wrong person is being punished.

“She didn't know, she did not know [about drug sales].  She didn't let that happen,” said Nelly Kahl, a customer.

ABC says penalties this severe are rare.  Of the 85,000 liquor licenses in California, indefinite suspensions only happen about 50 times per year.  The owner can sell her license to someone else, but no alcohol can be sold in the former Carolyn’s Place for at least one year.