Controversial liquor bill put on 90-day hold
Now that he’s made a roaring success of his South Side bar and restaurant, Steven Fitzpatrick Smith would like to do the same on section of Cherokee Street.
But Smith, owner of The Royale, 3132 S. Kingshighway Blvd.,worries he never could do it under the liquor control regulations proposed for the area.
A number of others business owners on Cherokee contend that Alderman Craig Schmid’s plan for the three blocks of Cherokee from Iowa to Nebraska avenues would put undue burden on businesses in that area.
For about 90 minutes, many of the 40 people attending a meeting May 15 of the Cherokee Station Business Association forcefully told the 20th Ward alderman they didn’t like the plans.
After repeated demands, Schmid finally agreed to delay any action for 90 days to give people the chance to comment.
Schmid’s bill containing the plan extends the 20th Ward Liquor Control District for another three years. That district would cease to exist at the end of this month if it is not extended. In the district now, at least 50 percent of sales of any establishment with a license to sell liquor by the drink must be from food. The district effectively restricts liquor by the drink to restaurants.
Schmid proposes to allow establishments on Cherokee from Iowa to Nebraska to have a liquor-by-the-drink license if 35 percent of their sales are from food.
These businesses would have to follow strict requirements on reduced weekday hours, parking, security and other issues. Those with 50 percent food sales wouldn’t have to follow these special requirements.
Hours would be 6 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday, and 6 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Establishments would have to get permission from owners of off-street parking lots to use them. A security guard would be mandated from 9 p.m. to closing for places with an capacity limit of more than 100 people.
High-resolution video cameras would be required outside the building, with an Internet feed available to the liquor authorities, the police, and others, including Schmid.
There would be no more than two such establishments within 350 feet.
The area is the part of the Cherokee Station Business District in Schmid’s ward. The rest of that district is in the 9th Ward of Alderman Kenneth Ortmann, which has no special requirements except the city’s general liquor laws.
Schmid said he was listening to business people who asked for an easing of the 50 percent requirement and to neighborhood leaders who had concerns about parking, security and other issues if 35 percent food sales were allowed.
But Smith, who wants to open in a building on the southwest corner of Iowa and Cherokee, said before Thursday’s meeting that the change would be a substantial burden on his ability to succeed.
"I think it’s absurd. I think it’s really over the top," he said. "It’s an impossibility for any business to open with such restrictions."
Smith said even though his bar is known for its food, less than 35 percent of sales are generated by food.
He said he first wanted to open on Cherokee, but didn’t because of the restrictions there.
Since opening The Royale three years ago, he’s quadrupled the amount of business the former owner had. The bar and grill also has become known as a gathering place for local politicos.
Nonetheless, Smith said after Thursday’s meeting that he hopes something could be worked out that would enable him to open while satisfying concerns of residents.
"I’m glad that there’s now dialogue and communication after there was no communication at all, and I’m hopeful that progress can be made on Cherokee," Smith said.
In Thursday’s meeting, Schmid continually said he wasn’t married to the bill’s specific wording, but to the concerns of neighbors. He said he could not delay having the bill passed because of the need to have the 20th Ward Liquor Control District reinstated before it expires at the end of the month.
Many of the people felt as if they had been caught off guard by Schmid’s plan.
"I’m very disappointed in you as someone who represents us because we were not included," said Andrew Liebermann, a member of the board of the Cherkee Station Business Association. "This needs to be scrapped and started over. I don’t see a reason why this can’t be postponed for several months."
As tempers rose, Kelly Kross, interim director of the Dutchtown South Community Corporation, offered a solution: extend the present ordinance establishing the ward’s liquor control district for 90 days. During that time, there could be community meetings until a consensus is reached.
Schmid, at first, said he would consider it, but after repeated demands finally agreed to the extension. He said after the meeting he would amend his bill to allow the extension.
"You have a lot of existing entrepreneurs who want to open up shops on Cherokee and are very responsible," Schmid said. However, some other operations might open that cause problems, he added.
"This gives us an opportunity to address both neighborhoods and communities and meet on common ground."
Schmid referred to the Gravois Park neighborhood, which is on the south side of Cherokee Street, and the Benton Park West neighborhood, which is on the north side.
Both Bill Byrd, president of the Benton Park West Neighborhood Association, and Rita Ford, president of the Gravois Park Neighborhood Association, worked with Schmid on the bill and said they agreed with him on it.
"The very first thing we want to do is protect the residents of the area," Byrd said before the meeting.
If the minimum amount of food sales is lowered without any controls, it will not be good for the neighborhood, Byrd said.
"If they’re good businessmen they will take into consideration the people of this neighborhood," Ford said.
