After the management at La Casa Maya made necessary changes when its liquor license was not renewed in July, the Ames City Council gave the restaurant a new liquor license on Aug. 26.
Police Chief Geoff Huff recommended giving the restaurant at 631 Lincoln Way another chance because management trained its workers and showed it wants to do better.
Why it lost its license: The city had denied La Casa Maya’s license renewal in July because the restaurant failed two secret compliance tests in one year. During the tests, police send young people who look older than 21 to buy alcohol at restaurants and bars. If workers don’t check their IDs and refuse the sale, the business fails the test.
La Casa Maya failed these compliance checks on Nov. 22, 2024, and again on May 2, 2025. The restaurant only passed one out of three tests during that period.
After each failure, police told the restaurant owners they should send workers to training classes about checking IDs. The police also suggested using a smartphone app called Iowa Age to Purchase and taking online training called I-PACT, the Iowa Program for Alcohol Compliance Training.
But when police checked with the manager before the July council meeting, he told them no employees had gone to any training sessions. The only instruction workers received was being told to check IDs.
What changed: Since the July denial, La Casa Maya acted. It sent documentation showing the staff completed both the state I-PACT training and the police ID training. Workers attended the training at their workplace.
The restaurant did pass one compliance check on June 26, 2025, showing some improvement before its license was denied.
Moving forward: Huff recommended approving a new license, but only for eight months instead of the usual 12 months. This shorter time lets police watch more closely to see if the restaurant keeps following the rules. Huff also encouraged the restaurant managers to attend quarterly meetings for bar and restaurant owners and make sure their staff goes to future ID training sessions.
The city council must approve all state liquor licenses before businesses can get them from the state.
