Luke Bryan‘s Nashville bar says Riley Strain only had one drink while at their establishment last week — denying overserving claims and other narratives that have been floated.
A rep for the TC Restaurant Group and Luke’s 32 Bridge tells TMZ … they quickly provided cops with any and all pertinent information in helping track Riley’s whereabouts when he first disappeared last Friday — including handing over all the surveillance footage they had.
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They go on to say they also forked over receipts, transaction records and time stamps to prove what exactly he drank while in the building … and as it turns out, they’re saying he only purchased and was served one alcoholic drink.
In addition to the boozy beverage, Luke’s 32 Bridge says Riley was also given two waters.
Despite this, they say their security team made a decision around 9:35 PM that Riley needed to go — based on their conduct standards, they say — and the muscle escorted him to the front of the venue … where they say he was accompanied by one person in his party.
They also claim the dude who came downstairs with him did not exit with Riley, but instead … returned upstairs without him. This is different than what Riley’s family has said in interviews … where his father seemed to suggest his friends had been blocked from leaving.
Ryan Gilbert, Riley’s dad, told FOX17 … “He was put out of the bar by himself, and there was a time that went by that his friend wasn’t able to get out. We believe they were taking care of the bar tab or whatnot. By the time they got outside, he just wasn’t there any longer.”
On its face, it would appear the dad was putting some blame on the bar — and even when police first relayed what had allegedly happened … they said they’d been told Riley was overserved, something Luke’s 32 Bridge is now explicitly refuting with their information.
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Of course, this comes on the heels of the TABC opening an investigation into claims that the bar gave him one drink too many — with a misdemeanor charge on the table. They made clear that it’s against the law to serve someone alcohol who is visibly intoxicated.
That seems to be the lingering question here … was Riley obviously drunk to the bar staff?
Luke himself has already addressed the tragic story in the wake of Riley’s week-long disappearance — he posted a message asking for prayers and noting his bar was cooperating with the authorities. Officials have scoured the Nashville area looking for Riley, with no luck.
Cops are asking anyone with reliable information on Riley’s whereabouts to call 615-742-7463.
We covered the story on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.
