DANE 101: Alcohol License Review Committee looks at Regent Street Retreat's changes

Originally posted at Dane 101. The post was written by Ryan Engel

The July meeting of the Alcohol License Review committee was a mix of ordinance discussion, existing business licensing changes, and revocation complaints, with Regent Street Retreat's evolution to The Red Zone garnering the most discussion.  A number of new and temporary licenses passed on the consent agenda.

Members in attendance:
Shiva Bidar-Sielaff (City Alder), Michael Donnelly (City Resident), David Hart (City Resident), Thomas Landgraf (City Resident), Everett Mitchell (UW-Madison Representative), Rachel Lepak (ASM Representative), Mike Verveer (City Alder)

The Red Zone/Regent Street Retreat, 1212 Regent St. The Regent Street Retreat, a longtime fixture on its namesake street, has been sold.  Previous owner Bruce Gerhartz  appeared with representatives of the new owners to request three items:

- a change of licensed premise in order to remodel the building's facade, adding new windows to open up views to and from the street    

- a beer and alcohol license for the new business, which includes the ability to operate an adjacent, Badger football game-day beer garden, with the same capacity limits enjoyed by the Regent Street Retreat    

- and an 18+ entertainment license.

The Red Zone managers Rick Imhoff and Ryan Hoelker described the new business as music venue, sports bar, and restaurant, citing Hoelker's management experience at the soon-to-be redeveloped Stadium Bar and Imhoff's experience as a musician, manager, and professional roadie.

The applications were well received, though ALRC members pressed Imhoff and Hoelker for more specific details about music plans, the beer garden, safety and security at such a large venue, potential noise complaints, and their remodeling plans.  Hoelker and Imhoff had ready answers.  They plan to start with Friday and Saturday night shows, then grow into additional nights.  Taking advantage of Madison's location between Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago, they would like to host weeknight stopover shows for national acts.  Citing changes to the musical landscape, Imhoff spoke to the difficulty of reading a particular band's appeal to an 18-20 year-old crowd, but he expressed a desire to host as many 18+ shows as made financial sense, even with the extra security those events required.

Imhoff talked about some of the engineering and layout challenges to remodeling the physical space.  He emphasized his goal of creating an interior space in which 625 people can all see the stage, a problem the Regent Street Retreat/The Annex never solved.  He described the interior remodel as "phase 2", possibly 18-24 months in the future, along with immediate plans to rebuild the main entrance and to replace significant portions of the facade with large windows.

Hoelker spoke about making improvements to the flow of foot traffic in the beer garden.  He also spoke about plans for food, including a lunch business aimed at area students and office workers, and a goal to serve food  at night and during music shows and other events.

Imhoff also fielded questions about noise levels and seemed receptive to gentle admonishing about the responsibilities of operating a music venue in an area surrounded by residential streets.

With the endorsement of the local city alder and the Madison Police Department, and apparently pleased with the new owners' plans to grow into the business over time, ALRC granted all three applications that were requested.

VFW Post 1318, 133 E Lakeside St

Compared to the discussion generated by The Red Zone, ALRC members moved quickly through VFW Post 1318's application to add tables and chairs to an existing patio.  Located across John Nolen Drive from Olin Park, VFW representative James Alvarado described the desire to add outdoor service as a response to inquiries from users of the nearby Capital City Trail.

ALRC granted the application, with a word of caution from Alder Mike Verveer that the VFW must apply for a conditional use permit from the city's Department of Planning, and with a condition that there be no amplified sound on the patio.

Villa Tap, 2302 Packers Ave

The Villa Tap applied for permission to use part of an adjacent parking lot to host an outdoor gathering once per year, after an annual golf outing.  The license was approved as part of the consent agenda.

Roast Public House, 558 State St

Redevelopment plans in the 500 block of State Street caused Roast Public House to look for a new home. Henry Anschauer, co-owner of Roast Public House, appeared before ALRC in support of an application to transfer the existing alcohol license.  Currently at 529 State Street, Roast is moving to 558 State St, an address previously home to S2 Pizza Bar.  Anschauer's license transfer was granted after clarification that he had reversed the percentages for gross receipts from food and alcohol on his application.  He further confirmed that Roast Public House does legally qualify as a restaurant.

Jazz at Five, 100 Block of State St

In 2013, Jazz at Five has musical events planned for August 7, 14, 21, & 29; and September 4.

Its application for a temporary license to sell beer at the events was approved as part of the consent agenda.


Ordinance Amendments
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Report on Alcohol License Management and Business Development

With Madison's Alcohol License Density Ordinance (ALDO) set to expire on January 1, 2013, Alders Mike Verveer, Lisa Subeck, and Shiva Bidar-Sielaff sponsored a resolution directing city staff to explore a set of recommendations and city ordinances that were, in turn, developed by city staff when when the Common Council directed them to develop an alcohol license management and business development plan.

Madison's Alcohol Policy Coordinator, Mark Woulf, updated ALRC on the status of that work.  Among other things, city staff are exploring revisions to city definitions for the types of available licenses, including restaurants, taverns, entertainment, and retail; simplification of the liquor license point system and other changes to alcohol license enforcement; and creation of a "State Street Overlay District" (SSOD), which would prevent taverns, night clubs, full-service liquor stores, and convenience stores from opening within the overlay district.  Other businesses within the overlay district, such as restaurants or entertainment venues, would be classified as either "allowed" or "conditional", the later requiring ALRC and Plan Commission approval.

With the looming end of ALDO, Woulf outlined both questions yet to be addressed (Should the SSOD have a sunset clause? How would the city handle changes in ownership within the SSOD?) as well as an aggressive agenda for ALRC and other city committees to discuss these and other questions, which would allow the City Council to take up a final proposal at its December 2013 meeting.  ALRC planned to take up this issue again as the first agenda item at its next regular meeting in August.

More coverage of the SSOD and other, related ordinance changes is available here.

Elimination of capacity level for 21+ and 18+ entertainment venues

This amendment from Alders Mike Verveer and Scott Resnick amends city ordinances to eliminate capacity levels for 18+ and 21+ entertainment licenses.  ALRC entertained a brief discussion about notifying businesses affected by the change via a mass mailing.  It then passed a motion supporting the ordinance change.

Revocations
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Logan's Madtown, 322 W Johnson St

Noting that Logan's Madtown was no longer operating, Assistant City Attorney Jennifer Zilavy asked that the revocation complaint against it be placed on file.

Mondays, 523 State St

Assistant City Attorney Zilavy reported that a revocation complaint against Mondays had been filed, and that the city received a standard denial earlier in the day.  Owner Gary Garten appeared briefly to contest the revocation complaint, and the ALRC began proceedings to schedule a revocation hearing.