It’s like something out of a whacky comedy movie — Homeless man breaks into bar that recently shut down, decides to pretend he’s the new owner and starts selling drinks. But this wasn’t some laugher starring the hilarious Steve Guttenberg; it’s exactly what authorities in a small Northern California town have arrested a man for doing.

According to police, the 29-year-old transient had heard that a bar he’d once worked at had lost its liquor license and closed its doors. So he did what any entrepreneurial homeless person would have done — broke in, turned on the lights, put an “Open” sign out front and went into business for himself.

Not having any booze to sell at first, the man had to run across the street to a store to purchase a six-pack of beer that he then re-sold, hopefully for a profit.

The plug was pulled on all the fun when a local newspaper ran a story about the bar being reopened and a local police detective recognized the new owner’s face. The detective went to check it out for himself and found the recently homeless man slinging booze and beer to customers.

But since it’s illegal to do things like break into someone else’s property and sell liquor without a license, the bar was once again shut down while all the cash and booze was confiscated by authorities.

The faux bar owner has been charged with burglary and selling alcohol without a license.

Homeless Man Breaks into Closed Northern California Bar, Sells Beer [L.A. Times]

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