The Rome City Commission on Monday levied a two-day suspension of the beer, wine and liquor pouring licenses held by the establishment at 425 Broad St.
“The restaurant can be open and you can have entertainment; just no alcohol sales,” City Clerk Joe Smith explained to Blanca Delgado, the license-holder.
Delgado did not contest the action and apologized for what she called “a mistake.”
The city’s Alcohol Control Commission recommended the sanctions after a second violation in 12 months of the ordinance requiring servers to wear their permits.
In a related discussion, Commissioner Bill Collins again raised the issue of lowering the 50-50 food-to-drink ratio required at establishments serving alcohol.
Collins and Commissioner Duane Reid said the ratio is unfair to businesspeople who want to open youth-oriented venues with a focus on dancing and other entertainment.
“I believe in protecting downtown,” Reid said. “But I’m afraid if we don’t establish an entertainment district, somebody’s going to force our hand downtown. And when that happens, downtown will no longer be the jewel of our community.”
Mayor Wright Bagby Jr. said the ACC is due to take up the issue at its next meeting — but several commissioners signaled that a speedy resolution is unlikely.
“We have to keep an open mind, but those ‘entertainment businesses’ are otherwise known as ‘alcohol businesses’ and (are) the places where we have the most problems,” said Commissioner Jamie Doss, who chairs the ACC. “We have to be careful as we pursue that.”
In other actions Monday, the board:
floor for you once the Sky Top is re-opened
back up .. which will happen soon..
You can dance an drink an not worry about driving
or tickets an such just get a room,an party
like a rock star would dream of.
rwlhotels llc
Just because someone wants to open an establishment and to provide entertainment, they are classified as an 'alcohol business' by Mr. Doss. God help the citizens of Rome for wanting to have a Vodka Tonic as they listen to some of the talented local bands. The 50/50 food ratio is such a joke. It only penalizes the restaurant. There is no deterrent when the customer orders liquor without ordering food. The customer who decides not to fill their belly with food is the person who drives the vehicle after too many drinks. I've never seen a restaurant pulled over for a DWI...
Why not force patrons to eat food in order to buy drinks? I see plenty of people sitting at the Applebee's bar sipping on a cold beverage without ever ordering food. Does the individual customer really matter when you take a close look at the 50/50 rule? With the 50/50 rule, anyone can come to the Bar to drink. These patrons aren't forced to eat so it really doesn't matter what type of ratios are put into place. You're penalizing the wrong person for someone else's bad decision.
Let's just say you want to go out for a night of dancing. Where are your options in Rome? Peach Palace - that would work if your under 30 (and I have serious doubts if they truly maintain the 50/50 ratio). So here it is, Saturday night, and I'm ready to dance. Oh yeah, I may want to have a couple of drinks to get 'loosened up' so I'll be able to dance without the whiteman's overbite that I'm known for. The City of Rome and the ACC says that any establishment that has liquor sales must sale food. I can go to Applebee's, Chili's, Longhorn's, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Big Box restaurant, insert franchise here, on and on and on... What, you mean these places don't have dance floors? They sell liquor, they sell beer, and they sell food - but they don't have dance floors. I only know of 3 places in Rome that you can currently have distilled spirits, listen to live bands, and dance on a dance floor. There may be more, but I know of Peach Palace, Harvest Moon, and 333 on Broad.
It makes me sick when the Government tries to legislate only to legislate. The City Commission and the ACC are keeping laws in place that make no sense. If a person wants to drink, they are going to drink. If a person decides to drive drunk, they are going to drive drunk. Why punish the 99.99% of the law abiding citizens because the .01% of the law breakers are going to do stupid stuff anyway.
I'm pretty sure that several people have gotten DWI's after leaving Applebee's and Chili's. And I believe that these establishments adhere to the 50/50 ratio that the ACC demands from them. It all comes down to the individual and the choices they make, not the establishments that they frequent.