Liquor Control Board - July 28, 2021 Minutes
LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD
July 28, 2021 1:00 P.M.
Present: Commissioner Piepkorn, Kay Schwarzwalter, John Stibbe, Lydia Tackett (via phone), Robert Nelson
Absent: None
Others Present: Police Chief David Zibolski, City Auditor Sprague, Chris Ohman, Environmental Health, Rick Carik, Rick’s; Duane Litton, Duffy’s; Dave Erickson, Bulldog Tap; Dustin Mitzel, Happy Harry’s, Dave Glessner, Sidestreet, John Krine, Rooters; Chad Klemik & Brent Edison, SouthTown PourHouse & Vogel Law; Daniel Ohmane & Francis Brown, Africa Club, and other interested parties.
Meeting was called to order at 1:00 P.M.
1. Commissioner Piepkorn called the meeting to order and asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of June 15, 2021 and June 29, 2021 Special Meeting. There were no additions and a name correction to the minutes of June 15 and June 29, 2021. Moved by Nelson, seconded by Schwarzwalter to approve the minutes of the June 15, 2021 meeting and the June 29, 2021 Special Meeting of the Liquor Control Board all voted in favor, motion passed unanimously.
2. A. Application for a Class GH alcoholic beverage license from Youngblood Coffee Roasters d/b/a Youngblood Coffee to be located at 623 2nd Ave North. No issues or concerns were raised in the background checks.
Moved by Stibbe, seconded by Schwarzwalter to approve the application for a Class GH alcoholic beverage license for Youngblood Coffee Roasters d/b/a Youngblood Coffee. Motion carried.
B. Application for a Class A-Club alcoholic beverage license from Touchmark at Harwood Groves LLC d/b/a Touchmark at Harwood Groves to be located at 1200 Harwood Drove South.
Sprague commented a Club license can only be issued to an organization with 200 plus member and that has been in existence for 20 plus years organized for civic, fraternal, social or business purposes, the intent of this license is to add an amenity to the facility for its members and guests. The question of whether the facility would be open to the public is a business decision, similar to the Fargo Country Club. No issues of concerns were raised in the background check.
Moved by Schwarzwalter, seconded by Nelson to approve the application for a Class A-Club alcoholic beverage license from Touchmark at Harwood Groves LLC d/b/a Touchmark at Harwood Groves. Motion carried.
3. Robyn Litke Sall, Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist, reviewed an Alcohol Outlet Density presentation. The information was gathered during an assessment in 2018 and concentrated on three locations, Downtown, 13th Ave South and 45th Street South, the population correlation was based on 2010 census data. Commissioner Piepkorn said he appreciated the information and would be interested in seeing the study repeated with current data, he also asked about the correlation with liquor license classification, there is a difference between a restaurant and a bar. Schwarzwalter commented that the downtown in not only an entertainment destination but also a residential neighborhood, safety is a prime concern. Stibbe asked about the size of the downtown component, with the expansion of downtown, it might be beneficial to expand the size of what is considered downtown. Piepkorn said this provides a good baseline and we can learn and move ahead. Tackett asked if the study considered zoning, commercial vs residential. Litke replied the study included all liquor licenses regardless of class and did not consider zoning.
4. Brent Edison, Vogel Law representing Southtown Pourhouse, presented an idea to amend the class FA and FA-RZ license classifications so that any business reaching $50,000 in monthly food sales would meet the requirements of the FA license. This would allow flexibility to meet the needs of businesses and take into account the high end cocktail and craft beer impact on sales. The current structure of the FA with the changing trends makes it difficult to meet the requirement. Southtown is a high volume restaurant, #3 in food sales by one food vendor’s estimate. Mr. Edison commented there is an ongoing dispute regarding Duane’s pizza sales being consumed on the premise. The $50,000 in food sales in another way to show it is a restaurant, the proposal would be either food sales exceed alcohol 50/50 OR food sales exceed $50,000 a month.
Nelson asked if a different license classification would work or if the Southtown lease requires and FA license, Edison replied the lease requires an FA. Nelson said originally the FA was just for overflow for Chili’s and Friday’s and was set up as 65% food sales, the City adjusted to 50% food sales at a later date. Does the FA fit the business model, this facility has gaming, sports tables, many TVs, if it looks like a bar, smells like a bar and feels like a bar, it most likely is a bar. Edison commented the City knew about the business model to have Duane’s Pizza on premise. Nelson questioned if we need to have a different license, he commented liquor is easier to grow than food sales. Stibbe asked where the 50/50 comes from, Sprague replied it has ties to the State law, where minors are allowed where alcohol is served if in a restaurant and food sales exceed alcohol sales. Tackett asked what changes the business has made to increase food sales, Edison said they had plans to add a salad bar but those were delayed due to Covid. Schwarzwalter said the proposal feels like a Band-Aid, we need to have a more comprehensive plan with stronger penalties. Nelson asked if the landlord would amend the lease to allow an A license. Edison replied they would love to do that but he did not think other leasee’s would permit that.
Sprague commented the purpose of the FA is to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages as an ADJUNCT to the restaurant operations, the City has used the most liberal definition, if alcohol sales exceed food sales the alcohol sales are no longer adjunct. If we went with this proposal, a business could do $50,000 in food sales and $150,000 in alcohol sales, no one’s definition would include that as a restaurant, it would clearly be a bar. Southtown has made business decisions that have affected their food sales, when they opened they did not allow minors on the premise, minors would not be consuming alcohol. In violation of ordinance, they were closing the kitchen at 10 pm; ordinance requires the kitchen to be open up to one hour before alcohol sales cease. Clearly, no one was eating food between 10 and 2 if the kitchen was closed.
Moved by Schwarzwalter, seconded by Nelson to deny the request to amend the FA and FA-RZ licenses where $50,000 in monthly food sales would meet the FA license requirement, motion carried.
5. Chief Zibolski discussed the liquor establishment incident forms, these forms will be presented every month to the liquor board. The first four were over intoxicated individuals (Am Vets, Fargo Billiards, Country Inn, Fargo Brewing), the next two were parking lot incidents (Fort Knox, The Northern), Rooters was an underage individual and fake ID was confiscated, in all of these cases the events had little to do with the tavern operations. The Old Broadway incident involved and altercation outside the tavern, the individual involved has not come forward, discussions have taken place with the OB management. We will have to pass on Windbreak for now since proper notice has not been provided, this will be considered on August 18. The incident at Gorkha Palace occurred on July 4th. Officers in the vicinity noticed a loud party in a commercial building after 2 a.m. Gorkha Palace is a restaurant that has been closed and not reopened after Covid, it does not have a current liquor license. Officers observed large crowds and someone acting as a bouncer, the bouncer refused to identify himself. An officer with past knowledge identified the person claiming to be the manager as Daniel Kwame Ohmane, officers were not allowed to enter until approximately 75 people exited. Once officers gained entry they observed cups with the smell of alcohol and beer bottle tops, this is an ongoing investigation and has been forwarded to the City Attorney. Chief commented discussions with the property owner indicated there was an agreement to rent the facility for a family party. It appears alcohol was being sold or served without a license. Finally, Chief Zibolski commented on two additional items from late June with Club Africa.
Commissioner Piepkorn indicated the representatives from Club Africa requested to address the Liquor Board but he felt it best to wait for the results of the re-application, then it will come back to Liquor Control and finally to City Commission.
There being no further business to come before the Liquor Control Board, the meeting was adjourned at 2:08 p.m.