Tempo Restaurant: What Happened There?

[Claudia]

If they held a staff meeting was specifically for that, so they "could get their story straight" as some have suggested, then I'm pretty sure it would be illegal. It would be charged as conspiracy to obstruct the course of justice, a criminal offence.

I doubt that the people who work that are that stupid, so there would have been no meeting.

A staff meeting is a staff meeting. Believe me, if there's an incident at a bar with police involved, the owners discuss it with the staff. I have that from a person who's been bartending for over 30 years. People are conniving, I don't put anything past anyone.

 

[brandalous]

Zapped, I have read that the person at the door was a 23 year old woman. I have also read some commentary that perhaps this was an inappropriate person to put at the door-- not old enough, not big enough, and not male, and perhaps without the judgment necessary to determine who should be let in. Do you have any thoughts on this? Is it unusual for a relatively young woman to be functioning something like a bouncer?

I'm not Zapped, but *I* sure thought it was unusual. My very limited run of bar-hopping days had teams of multiple door people, often one person standing in front of the door and a group of big burly guys standing nearby. I lived in a small college town and this was commonplace, and sometimes I actually knew one or two of the big burly guys and/or the bartenders. (I was still always carded, even though I had known one since we were kids!) Though earlier in the evening before things were really busy, there was often nobody at the door.

 

[zapped]

Zapped, I have read that the person at the door was a 23 year old woman. I have also read some commentary that perhaps this was an inappropriate person to put at the door-- not old enough, not big enough, and not male, and perhaps without the judgment necessary to determine who should be let in. Do you have any thoughts on this? Is it unusual for a relatively young woman to be functioning something like a bouncer?

Since it is supposed to a be a high end bar, with high drink prices, I doubt they would need a bouncer per se as that usually keeps the rif-raff out.

Obviously it didnt work in JLMs case. A good bouncer or door person wouldnt have allowed him to return based on his behavior earlier that night....any of it. That doesnt exactly scream high-class to the rest of your customers does it?

His bizarre behavior taken in total (and actually commented on by the door person) makes me doubt the sobriety and maturity level of the door person as well.

I would have watched him closely after he started bumming cigarettes and bumping into people and I would have asked him to leave after the words he had with the British man and his wife....when you start making other guests feel uncomfortable its time to go....and I wouldnt have allowed him entry the second time under any circumstances.

I also wouldnt have put a 23 year old at the door, personally. The chances of them lacking the necessary judgement AND for them allowing their underage friends in are too great IMO.

I mean, its only been a couple of years since the door person turned 21 herself and she might not have thought drinking underage was that big of a deal.

I dont have the statistics in front of me but the majority of people who serve people underage are under 30 themselves. Those of us who are older usually know better by this time and have more to lose.

I imagine people argued with her a lot because of her age, her size and her sex...... and if a fight were to break out involving someone big what could she have really done to stop it anyway?

All-in-all Id say it was a very bad choice.

My guess is that they used a server who stepped into the role after her shift was over waiting tables.

Its not altogether uncommon in smaller mom-and-pop establishments, to see people acting in the capacity as door people and drinking while on the job, either.

 

[Claudia]

Since it is supposed to a be a high end bar, with high drink prices, I doubt they would need a bouncer per se as that usually keeps the rif-raff out.

Obviously it didnt work in JLMs case. A good bouncer or door person wouldnt have allowed him to return based on his behavior earlier that night....any of it. That doesnt exactly scream high-class to the rest of your customers does it?

His bizarre behavior taken in total (and actually commented on by the door person) makes me doubt the sobriety and maturity level of the door person as well.

I would have watched him closely after he started bumming cigarettes and bumping into people and I would have asked him to leave after the words he had with the British man and his wife....when you start making other guests feel uncomfortable its time to go....and I wouldnt have allowed him entry the second time under any circumstances.

I also wouldnt have put a 23 year old at the door, personally. The chances of them lacking the necessary judgement AND for them allowing their underage friends in are too great IMO.

I mean, its only been a couple of years since the door person turned 21 herself and she might not have thought drinking underage was that big of a deal.

I dont have the statistics in front of me but the majority of people who serve people underage are under 30 themselves. Those of us who are older usually know better by this time and have more to lose.

I imagine people argued with her a lot because of her age, her size and her sex...... and if a fight were to break out involving someone big what could she have really done to stop it anyway?

All-in-all Id say it was a very bad choice.

My guess is that they used a server who stepped into the role after her shift was over waiting tables.

Its not altogether uncommon in smaller mom-and-pop establishments, to see people acting in the capacity as door people and drinking while on the job, either.

...and sometimes the bar owners are too cheap too hire a bouncer, so their bartender has to do that job, too. :/

 

[MonstrSquad]

I feel sorry for him (assuming his stalking wasn't as nefarious as it looked). I can't imagine how I'd feel in his shoes.

Hello everyone, I have been lurking on the board since JW's case (strange...I immediately assumed it would be a very young man that had done such horrific things to her). Sorry OT.

I don't know if this would help create some level of comfort with WG... but does anyone know WG's name? Is it possible he was an off-duty police officer? Is it possible he's a member of some organization that deals with public safety, or some type of watchdog? Knowing the string of young women who have gone missing in the area I presume there has to be some type of awareness group. LE (from what I understand) are not supposed to drink at bars in their own jurisdiction. I could be wrong but throwing it out there as he may have been a cop from outside C-ville. With how quickly he was cleared it is likely IMO.

Also why would there not be undercover LE present since girl after girl has gone missing? The patterns in and around the area merit something of a sting if you ask me IMO. I've no idea the complexity involved in such a sting but how about a female officer pretending to be intoxicated thus attractng a predator? Maybe a stretch but why not put it out there.
I hope and pray they find Hannah, my thoughts are with her and her family.
Hopefully this was worth a first post
Nice to meet you all

 

[neverletgo]

Hello everyone, I have been lurking on the board since JW's case (strange...I immediately assumed it would be a very young man that had done such horrific things to her). Sorry OT.

<snipped for space>

:wagon: to Websleuths, MonstrSquad! :wave:

 

[MonstrSquad]

:wagon: to Websleuths, MonstrSquad! :wave:

:happydance:
thank you!

 

[Evie Ivy Over]

Don't know if this info was posted anywhere else, but I ran into this article today. I guess I'm thinking his drink of choice that night seemed to be bourbon and whiskey, so if he bought beers at Tempo, the chances are pretty good that he took them out of Tempo, and that HG wasn't inside drinking.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...fabab0-48bd-11e4-b72e-d60a9229cc10_story.html

"Cecilia Rodi, a co-owner of the Rapture restaurant on the Mall, said that on the night Graham vanished, Matthew stopped at her bar for a whiskey and Coke in the hours before he and Graham were allegedly seen together. Matthew was a regular patron, Rodi said, and so he blended into the crowd, attracting no attention from the staff."

 

[cluciano63]

Kind of OT, but I saw a true crime today where a young man was murdered in order to keep secret a concert ticket scam the bar he worked at was being investigated for. Murdered by owner with the help of several employees, who were afraid the bar would be closed down. Made me think of Tempo for a minute...

 

[brainysthenewsexy]

I was not happy with Tempo's CYA letter regarding HG and I wondered what kind of history they've had with Virginia Dept. of ABC. The ABC website actually has very detailed orders (all in Excel spreadsheets, organized by city/zip code) going back to 2007 regarding establishments that were in violation of ABC laws. Being a college town, it is not surprising that lots of Charlottesville establishments were found in violation of serving the underage. Tempo has not been one of them, so far as I can tell. I know we've been questioning how effective their door person has been at keeping underage out. This makes me think they keep a pretty close eye. Either that or they're good at not getting caught. It makes me wonder now if HG was in fact inside.

http://www.abc.virginia.gov/hearings/boardorders/board_orders.html

 

[HartsX3]

It's not factual - but very interesting to see on the Find HG Facebook page an underage girl said she was at Tempo that night and has information but scared to call it in because she was IN there underage...I think they talked her into calling it in... hope it's valuable!!

 

[Heathery]

I can say from personal experience that sometimes bar and restaurant owners and managers care more about *appearing* to follow the law. A young guy with a fake ID will be sent packing (unless he's hot and it's a gay bar) whereas with an attractive female it might very well be "Oh golly gee, I thought that was a real ID".

Of course the regulation of these "accidents" varies by city and town and even the current politicians and police.

 

[human]

It's not factual - but very interesting to see on the Find HG Facebook page an underage girl said she was at Tempo that night and has information but scared to call it in because she was IN there underage...I think they talked her into calling it in... hope it's valuable!!

I hope she is a real person and LE searches her out. She is making a couple of claims that have big repercussions.

 

[Heathery]

I know when I was younger a lot of bars wouldn't even let in younger people with out of state ID's because it was so hard to spot a fake. But then I had friends that even made their own fake ID's that were so bad the laminate was peeling (lol)- but the ID's worked because they knew the RIGHT places to use them.

 

[Dushi]

I am still trying to figure out what it would mean to Hannah's disappearance if she was in Tempo

She was seen leaving the front of the bar with JM
Whatever happened, happened after Tempo

 

[Heathery]

I am still trying to figure out what it would mean to Hannah's disappearance if she was in Tempo

She was seen leaving the front of the bar with JM
Whatever happened, happened after Tempo

Well he allegedly told his grandmother that he bought her a drink there, then they parted ways. So besides establishing a level of honesty, it could also explain why she went from being able to walk pretty well for a good amount of time to allegedly having a hard time standing and walking on her own.

 

[Dushi]

Well he allegedly told his grandmother that he bought her a drink there, then they parted ways. So besides establishing a level of honesty, it could also explain why she went from being able to walk pretty well for a good amount of time to allegedly having a hard time standing and walking on her own.

Would a drug added to her drink work that fast?
Honesty? He ran...

We know they were seen together after Tempo, JM helping her walk.
Thats where the trail goes cold AFAIK

She was either inside with him or she was outside waiting for him

Either way, he is the last known person to be seen with her

 

[Heathery]

Would a drug added to her drink work that fast?
Honesty? He ran...

We know they were seen together after Tempo, JM helping her walk.
Thats where the trail goes cold AFAIK

She was either inside with him or she was outside waiting for him

Either way, he is the last known person to be seen with her

There are a lot of defense lawyers that would make the "running" a racial thing- a black man with a white woman- felt like he'd already been tried and convicted blah blah blah. It worked really well in the OJ case- a lot of people were convinced he was framed because of racism. And you could argue there have been a lot of cases in the news lately where black people have been treated rather poorly by white cops, etc.

I think finding Hannah is the most important thing for a variety of reasons, but I think witnesses that could speak to her interactions with "LJ" are important as well.

 

[Dushi]

There are a lot of defense lawyers that would make the "running" a racial thing- a black man with a white woman- felt like he'd already been tried and convicted blah blah blah. It worked really well in the OJ case- a lot of people were convinced he was framed because of racism. And you could argue there have been a lot of cases in the news lately where black people have been treated rather poorly by white cops, etc.

I think finding Hannah is the most important thing for a variety of reasons, but I think witnesses that could speak to her interactions with "LJ" are important as well.

Well I guess the way i feel is that whether their interactions were witnessed or not, he is the last known person to be seen with her.
And I agree, many would put his running down to a racial thing
I feel he ran because he was caught on CCTV with a young woman who is now missing . And she was not seen with anyone else after that, that we know of JMHO

 

[atthelake]

Well he allegedly told his grandmother that he bought her a drink there, then they parted ways. So besides establishing a level of honesty, it could also explain why she went from being able to walk pretty well for a good amount of time to allegedly having a hard time standing and walking on her own.

Gramma perhaps thought she was doing him a favor...but backfire...it will come to haunt her as no evidence has shown that he did buy it for her...inferred...then slammed.. but gramma says. Will be interesting.