Amid suspicion that it might be in violation of its liquor license, Buck’s Madison Square Garden, 802 Regent St., has stopped honoring price specials on drinks advertised in an August issue of The Onion, raising questions over the city’s ability to enforce drink-special regulation.
The advertisement in question listed daily specials featuring food and drink combined for a special price, such as a nine-inch pizza and a pitcher of beer for $7.50, chicken fingers and a 24-oz. beer for $5, and tacos with two margaritas for $6.
However, Buck’s liquor license states the “licensee shall not give away any drink or sell at a price that is different from the usual price for the drink for any period of time less than one full week” or “advertise in any manner the availability, pricing, or dispensing of drinks or alcohol in a manner to lead a reasonably prudent person to conclude that alcohol is available contrary to the above statements.”
The drink-special restrictions were voluntarily adopted by Buck’s.
Representatives of several city agencies, including the Madison Police Department and the city attorney’s office, were unable to determine whether Buck’s advertisement is indeed in violation of the terms of the license.
Shelly Murphy, manager and owner of Luther’s Blues on University Avenue, admitted the lack of precision within their liquor license caused the bar’s management to consider a similar tactic to Buck’s in order to bypass the restrictions of their license. But management decided to abandon the idea out of fear of violating the terms of their license.
“We’ve tossed the idea around,” Murphy said.
Ald. Kent Palmer, District 14, a member of the Alcohol License and Review Committee, said he believes while Buck’s might have violated the terms of its license, the breach is not severe enough to warrant action.
“When owners include food in a special, they are encouraging something more than just drinking,” Palmer said.
“What we are concerned about is owners trying to bring clients into their business by selling sheer volumes of alcohol with large discounts.”
Ald. Brenda Konkel, District 2, said she thinks Buck’s found a loophole and the drink specials advertised “violated the spirit of the mood of the license.” But as to whether Buck’s broke the terms of its license, she said she was unsure.
Ald. Tim Bruer, District 14, 18-year chair of the ALRC, was uncertain of the advertisement’s legitimacy.
“I really don’t know,” Bruer said when asked if the advertisement was in violation of Buck’s liquor license.
Ald. Tom Powell, District 5, said the fact that the ALRC, city attorney and Madison police failed to notice or take action against Buck’s advertisement is typical of the arbitrary enforcement associated with drink-special bans.
“You only get reprimanded if you go too far,” Powell said, claiming that the ALRC tends to crack down on some bars more than others.
Powell suggested discretion in doling out liquor licenses is falling increasingly on the UW chancellor’s office and the Madison Police Department, which prompts bars to halfheartedly adopt the regulations.
“If you play ball with the [ALRC] and those who influence it, some things are overlooked,” Powell said.
While not all the alders agree on whether drink specials should be banned, they do agree the terms of Buck’s license are ambiguous and fail to determine where drink and food combination specials might fall.
“We need to make sure we put out clearer and better-written conditions in liquor licenses,” Konkel said.
