Do you lose with more booze?

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According to city records, there are eight establishments with liquor licenses in the riverfront development district:
• La Rosita Mexican Grill
• New Albanian Brewing Co.’s Bank Street Brewhouse
• Louis Le Francais
• La Bocca Restaurant
• The Irish Exit
• Wick’s Pizza Parlor
• Habana Blues and Tapas Restaurant
• Toast on Market

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A proposal to extend New Albany's riverfront development district - allowing an unlimited amount of liquor licenses to be sold to establishments that sell food within the district - will likely be weighed in committee before the New Albany City Council takes final votes on the measure. Two councilmen on the committee have concerns about issuing more liquor licenses. File photo

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October 24, 2011

Do you lose with more booze?

Messer, Coffey wary of impact of more liquor licenses

By DANIEL SUDDEATH Daniel.Suddeath@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Mon Oct 24, 2011, 12:45 AM EDT

NEW ALBANY — Expansion of riverfront district vote likely won’t come before mid-November

A proposal to extend the city’s riverfront development district to allow more liquor licenses to be sold will likely be weighed in committee at least one more time before the New Albany City Council takes final votes on the measure.

Last week, the riverfront committee consisting of Councilmen Kevin Zurschmiede, Jack Messer and Dan Coffey met with Deputy Mayor Carl Malysz about the expansion.

The proposal is to lengthen the district to West Fifth Street, which would incorporate at least two projects Malysz said the city had been contacted about pertaining to liquor sales.

Holiday Inn Express, located at 411 W. Spring St., is considering opening a lounge and the new owners of the former Hoosier No. 3 firehouse at 319 W. Market St. have also inquired about a liquor permit as they may develop the building into a restaurant, Malysz said.

After a riverfront district has been declared, it allows establishments that serve food to acquire a liquor license for $1,000. The licenses are unlimited, which is advantageous for business owners, as purchasing a liquor permit outside of a riverfront district can be difficult and expensive because of state quotas.

While beer and wine permits are typically easier to garner, liquor licenses outside of a riverfront district can be sold for several times their worth and there’s a limit on how many are available in a municipality.

But since the issue was first discussed in August, Malysz said he’s learned “hotels are exempt from the quotas,” therefore the expansion could be rolled back to West Fourth Street and Holiday Inn would still be able to pay $1,000 for a liquor license.

In September, the proposal passed the first of three votes by an 8-1 count before it was tabled for committee review. Messer voted against the ordinance, as he said some assurances need to be made to ensure a slew of bars don’t open.

Quality restaurants can benefit a community, but allowing multiple bars to open downtown under the guise of selling pub food can be detrimental to public safety and create a “nightmare” for police, said Messer who is a New Albany policeman.

“I’m not open to expanding what we’ve got until we find out what benefit it’s going to produce,” Messer said last week.

The mayor is responsible for approving the liquor permits in a riverfront district. Malysz said Mayor Doug England has purposely focused on not duplicating restaurants in terms of their food choices within the district over the past four years. Though England is not running for another term, Malysz said the next mayor would still have the tools to limit who gets a liquor license in the district because they have the final say.

He added the state has stipulations on what constitutes food service so that establishments that receive the riverfront licenses must legitimately prepare meals.

According to city records, there are eight establishments with liquor licenses in the riverfront development district: La Rosita Mexican Grill; New Albanian Brewing Co.’s Bank Street Brewhouse; Louis Le Francais; La Bocca Restaurant; The Irish Exit; Wick’s Pizza Parlor; Habana Blues and Tapas Restaurant; and Toast on Market.

Coffey represents the proposed expansion area as District 1 councilman. Though he voted in favor of the ordinance on first reading, Coffey said he will likely only support the proposal on the final ballots if the administration can show the expansion would bring upstanding establishments to the area.

“We don’t need another bar, per say, in the west end,” Coffey said.

Zurschmiede, who is the committee chair, said the ordinance may not receive final readings when the council convenes Nov. 3. The council will also meet Nov. 17.

“We’re going to have another [committee] meeting before we bring it back to the full body,” Zurschmiede said.

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Do you lose with more booze?

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