Philadelphia - Bar raises age to 25 due to too many high quality fake ID's

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PHILADELPHIA -- A longtime Philadelphia bar has temporarily raised its entry age to 25 and older after an apparent surge in college-age patrons and increasingly sophisticated fake IDs.

Dirty Frank's co-owner Jody Sweitzer said she believed social media contributed to a wave of younger crowds showing up at the Center City bar, prompting the staff to become more vigilant.

But she said the tipping point came when a 24-year-old "Founding Father" attempted to get in. The fake Pennsylvania ID featured a photo of Ben Franklin, listed his age as 24, and gave the Liberty Bell as his address.

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Sweitzer said that was when she decided the bar had to act, and two weeks ago, Dirty Frank's implemented a temporary rule requiring patrons to be at least 25 to enter.

"Thank you to whoever brought this in. We confiscated it, obviously, and that's the day I'm like, 'We're done,'" Sweitzer said, holding up the confiscated fake ID.

She said the bar had seen an influx of younger crowds arriving in large groups.

"I guess it was with the ChatGPT, and TikTok and everything, so we started getting swarms of kids, 20 at a time, 30 at a time, and it was so odd," she said. "Everybody was scanning, the UV lights were working, so all the holograms were correct, but it just seemed really off," she added.

Sweitzer said the IDs were still scanning as valid and passing security measures but other behavioral concerns raised alarms, including vaping inside, some patrons bringing their own drinks, and instances of disrespectful conduct.

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The Ben Franklin incident, she said, underscored the need for immediate action.

"I have to preserve the bar, I have to preserve my license," she said.

Regular customers said they'd noticed changes in the atmosphere.

"They don't know how to drink. They drink way too much. They throw up on the floor, they yell, they scream," said Jean Merritt of South Philadelphia.

Merritt went on to say, "I was not surprised that the kids are trying to play tricks, but I am so glad they changed the age."

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