City OKs outside alcohol for Bourgeois Pig
The Lawrence City Commission tonight unanimously approved a license that would allow the Bourgeois Pig to continue serving alcoholic beverages on its sidewalk dining space. Enlarge video
A discussion of whether to allow downtown bars to have "sidewalk drinking" areas will be on tap for city commissioners.
Commissioners at their Tuesday evening meeting unanimously agreed to allow the Bourgeois Pig, 6 E. Ninth Street, to continue to have a sidewalk dining area even though the business doesn't meet the requirement that 70 percent of its sales come from food.
Commissioners, though, approved the sidewalk dining license because apparently the city mistakenly granted the business a sidewalk license - even though it didn't meet the food requirement - in the mid 1990s.
The error was discovered when new owners purchased the business in January. The new owners brought the discrepancy to the attention of the city, but asked the city to grandfather the use because allowing people to drink alcohol in the sidewalk seating area was an important part of the business' finances.
"It is important to note the integrity and transparency of the business owners to come forward with this," said Commissioner Rob Chestnut. "That demonstrates a level of transparency that makes me hesitant to take this permit away from them."
But the bigger question becomes whether other businesses - primarily bars - that don't meet the food sales requirement should be allowed to have the sidewalk seating areas.
Commissioners said they were willing to discuss it but stopped short of saying they would change the city policy prohibiting bars from having the areas.
Chestnut and Commissioner Boog Highberger both said they had strong concerns about changing the policy. But the other commissioners said they would consider it if there were proper rules put in place to regulate the areas.
"It has the potential to enhance our downtown, but it also has the potential to destroy it," Mayor Sue Hack said. "No one wants that, but it has the potential to do that if we are not very careful about how we do it."
Commissioners directed staff members to put together a report detailing what regulations may be needed to safely allow bars to add the sidewalk seating areas. That report should be completed by early January.
Comments
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ilovelucy (anonymous) says…
Let the fun begin. There are several other establishments that were promised, by the last Commission, sidewalk dining space. It'll be interesting on how the City treats those businesses. Methinks that they'll once again back pedal.
kneejerkreaction (anonymous) says…
Outdoor diining, drinking, yes even smoking, is commonplace throughout the world in places popular with walk-around traffic, like Mass St. If outdoor seating plummets Lawrence into some sort of Sodom & Gemorrah, I'll be really surprised.
Let's say that happens. If the city permits other drinking establishments to have outdoor seating, just because The Pig does, without some sort of fallback plan to be able to easily revoke those privlidges if they are abused, then shame on the city.
Let the outside drinking begin! But caveat bevande (drinker beware). If the owners can't police their outside drinking, then drinker be gone.
dulcinea47 (anonymous) says…
The thing is, people were already drinking outside at the Pig, before the new owners bought it. It wasn't causing a problem then, so why would it suddenly start causing one? (I mean as far as being a den of iniquity, not as far as opening up the issue of outside seating.)
ilovelucy (anonymous) says…
B3: what a total a%%$)^@ statement! Have you considered creating and moving to your perfect Utopia? If not, I suggest you do so. You and your family would be better in a sitcom perfect world than Lawrence, KS!
Godot (anonymous) says…
Lawrence has a penchant for unequal enforcement of its laws. Which laws get enforced, and which new ones are constructed out of thin air, depends on who likes you and who does not.
toefungus (anonymous) says…
Our old city manager worked real hard to keep enforcement of rules the same for all, but that ticked off the elitists in town and they got rid of him.