Liquor Licenses Bring Out the Worst in Kids

Says one: You should have been here.
Says two: I was out of town.
Says one: You should have been here.
Says two: I was out of town.
I was out of town
Says one: Don’t start with me
Says two: I’ll start with you.
Don’t attack me personally.
Says one: That is baloney.
Says two: Don’t Talk to me
I didn’t start it.
Says one: Don’t yell.

(Then their supervisor orders a timeout session)

You might have thought that was a discussion between two kids or something, but since it is in the SOHO section you probably figured it was from someone at one of our local establishments. But you would be incorrect there, too.

That exchange was between City Council Members Joseph Caetano and John Dingfelder (candidate for County Commission) as they discussed the request from Koto Japanese Steakhouse in Whaleys Plaza to be able to serve beer and wine at a City Council meeting on August 20. The meeting was briefly adjourned so that they could be sent to their rooms, err, so that they could calm down and return to doing the City’s business that they have been elected to do. The discussion focused on whether Koto’s should be limited in the hours they serve to eleven pm or midnight instead of 3 AM as allowed by the county. Because the first hearing on the license had been heard (with Dingfelder absent) and supported with no limitations by the then present members, the effort to add restricted hours was not possible without requiring Koto’s to open without beer and alcohol being served for another few weeks while new hearings were held. The City Council spent almost an hour on this issue (including the timeout session) with various city staff members and others present. The result was that the owners of Koto agreed to close before midnight and the license being granted that actually allows them to serve later than midnight if they decided to do so. Koto’s planned to open on September 1.

Later in the same day, a full liquor license request came forward for the former Tacqueria Quetzlcoatl location at Howard and Azeele. This request was for no hour restrictions to be placed by the City. Tommy Ortiz , co-owner of Tacqueria and of Cheap, Hyde Park Café, and The Kennedy, spoke in favor of allowing the license to be approved. The current license is a beer and wine license with no city hour restrictions. The planned new owners, Mark and Dee Zudar, spoke as to their plans for the property. Walter Crumbley, of the Oscawana Courier City Neighborhood Association spoke against the license approval. Additional opposition came from the Bayshore Gardens Neighborhood Association. The limited parking, full liquor license issue, and hours led to a unanimous vote to deny the application.
This was another hour of the City Council’s day. Of special note was the comment of one City Council member about having driven down South Howard and “seeing a lot of things out of control.” Sounds sort of like the City Council to me, maybe we should consider restricting their hours, too.

With all the bickering over the hours that a restaurant and bar can operate, we have wondered why the Council hasn’t noticed some of the totally non licensed and not approved by the health department food vendors in the SOHO area.

Bern Laxer Park getting closer to reality. The concrete base for the fountain is almost complete. That means the dancing ladies statues could soon come out of their hiding location for the past years and actually be visible soon. This park in front of Ceviche’s and Bella’s is currently an unattractive construction site, but it will be changing soon. While the money is in place for the major part of the construction (although years behind schedule), the money for landscaping and more has not yet been provided. Watch for the Historic Hyde Park Neighborhood Association to step in during the coming months to help raise the funds to complete this project. The Linear Park on Davis Islands may be about to accept bids in anticipation of beginning construction soon. This project was funded years ago and may finally be getting closer to actually becoming a reality.