Owners of The Hawk, a historic campus area bar, will lose their alcohol license in about a week if they don’t appeal a recent state ruling against them.

“The volume of violations that had accumulated over the last four years were just to a point where they had to be revoked,” said Tom Groneman, director of the state’s Alcoholic Beverages Control Division.

Groneman late last week found that the bar violated the Club and Drinking Establishment Act seven times when minors possessed alcohol at the bar from Jan. 14, 2004, to June 17, 2005.

In most of the cases, the arresting officer testified the minor did not resemble the individual described in the fake ID used to enter and buy alcohol, according to the decision. Groneman dismissed 10 other cases.

The director also considered the bar’s eight previous violations that occurred between Nov. 3, 2001, and Sept. 20, 2003.

A bar’s license can be revoked for nine violations in four years. Groneman’s findings last week gave The Hawk 15 violations in that time span.

The bar’s owners, John Heleniak and Thomas Devlin, can appeal the decision to the Kansas Secretary of Revenue or in district court. Groneman said the ruling is stayed automatically and the bar can be open for 15 days after the ruling pending an appeal.

“If there is no appeal, they’ll be shut down,” he said.

Heleniak did not return a telephone message Friday evening.

The Hawk was empty Friday evening, but according to a sign posted outside, it would be closed until Tuesday for cleaning.