The Alcohol License Review Committee approved Mad Town Ventures’ request for a liquor license Wednesday night for Chaser’s Bar and Grill, a future bar to be located on West Gorham Street.
Chaser’s will replace Quinton’s Bar and Deli at 319 W. Gorham St.
Several times, Quinton’s Bar and Deli violated the alcohol statute requiring a restaurant with a liquor license make no more than 50 percent of its profits from alcohol sales.
“The committee has quite a history with Quinton’s,” said Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4. “Unfortunately, it’s not the most positive history.”
ALRC member Chet Gerlach echoed Verveer, saying Quinton’s wasn’t much of a kitchen, but more just a bunch of microwaves.
According to William Rudy, manager of Chaser’s, the restaurant plans to serve a full menu until closing time, following its future slogan: “Great food and fun.”
Rudy’s inspiration for Chaser’s was sparked when his two children at the University of Wisconsin told him there are not enough late-night dining venues around campus offering an extensive menu.
“Quinton’s [was] more just a deli and sandwich place,” Rudy said. “They just never wanted to go down that street.”
ALRC members voiced concern about the location of Chaser’s because of the rocky history with the previous establishment and students’ demand for alcohol.
Alcohol Policy Coordinator Katherine Plominski said the menu itself appeared to be better than Quinton’s.
“I think that Chaser’s will be a significant improvement from Quinton’s just looking at the menu,” Plominski said. “It’s much more than just sandwiches and a bag of chips — it’s a huge difference.”
Ald. Michael Schumacher, District 18, was concerned about students potentially abusing the restaurant as another late night bar.
Rudy said if he builds a great, quality restaurant and the students are treated with respect, there should be no problems.
He added he has been a successful businessman for the past 28 years.
ALRC member Marsh Shapiro said he was looking forward to seeing Chaser’s in service, and he wishes Rudy well.
“With his background, I’m much more confident with the possibility of him being pretty successful than I am with some of the applicants we’ve had in the past couple of years,” Shapiro said.
Plominski said under state law Chaser’s can stay open as a restaurant after bar time. Rudy was confident he will maintain restaurant status as opposed to bar status.
Chaser’s will open at 10 a.m. every morning and stop serving alcohol before they stop serving food. Rudy wants to keep the bar and grill open until 2:30 or 3 a.m.
“This is a great location,” Rudy said. “This is a great downtown area. And kids love to eat.”
The ALRC also approved extending the hours of Samba, the popular downtown restaurant on
Correction:The times stated in the last sentence of the print version of this story were unclear.
