The Alcohol License Review Committee gave one bar on campus permission to expand and granted another an alcohol license.
Among other things on the agenda were four downtown area establishments seeking a license to dole out booze to Madison’s every-thirsty downtown denizens.
The ALRC granted Bucky’s Char House a Class B beer and Class C wine license for its restaurant at 35 Union Square. However, because of stipulations in the license agreements, drinkers will have to enjoy a meal along with their booze.
“Because of the fragile nature of the area, we have to carefully scrutinize all liquor license applications in the area,” ALRC Chairman Tim Bruer said.
ALRC member Sergeant Emil Quast of the Madison Police Department said the area around Lake Street and Johnson Street accounts for seven percent of all police calls in Madison, and 17 percent of all alcohol-related calls.
Bucky’s will not be allowed to sell anyone beer or wine unless the customers order food at the same time. Bucky’s will also not be allowed to offer a sit-down bar or sell pitchers, bottles or cans.
Lawerence W. Schmock, of Jocko’s Rocketship fame, was granted a change in license premises for the Blue Velvet Lounge at 431 W. Gilman St.
Schmock plans to add a second floor to increase capacity from 99 people to 155 and add aesthetic value. The proposed upstairs will have couches, sofas and coffee tables as well as an atrium for a roof. The board unanimously agreed to pass the motion.
“I’m surprised the board made him wait as long as they did before letting him expand,” Verveer said.
Kathleen Ann McCarney’s application for a Class B liquor and beer license for her new restaurant was referred until the December meeting. McCarney planned to open Vintage, a restaurant in the new State Safety Building at 17 W. Main St.
Bruer said the state of Wisconsin had a problem with an establishment selling booze out of a building in which the state would occupy a majority of the office space.
McCarney and members of the committee were blindsided by the decision, according to 4th District Ald. Mike Verveer. McCarney now has to negotiate with the state and re-present her case next month.
Eric M. Flemming planned to open a club named Hush below Cue-nique at 319 W. Gorham Street. He intended the club to be an upscale restaurant and dance club offering approximately 20 tap beers and appetizers in the 7,500-square-foot facility.
Flemming’s application for a liquor license was withdrawn from the table in light of strong opposition against him. Opponents said there were too many bars and alcohol-related problems in the area where he planned to open a nightclub.
“There was a lot of opposition from the neighborhood, because there are a lot of police calls in the area already,” Flemming said. “The clientele is not the problem, though; it’s just that there are too many poorly operated bars in the area.”
Flemming has decided to pursue establishing his club at a different, yet as of now undisclosed, location on or near State Street.
After the board ran several citizens seeking bartending licenses through the gauntlet for failing to disclose crimes, such as being implicated in an armed robbery, on their application, City Attorney Jennifer Zilavy announced that she would be presenting a new ordinance concerning beer-keg registration soon. The ordinance, she said, will be legally sound. However, she did not disclose when she would present it or what exactly it would entail.
