Liquor Control Board - February 17, 2021 Minutes
LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD
February 17, 2021 1:30 P.M.
Present: Commissioner Grhrig, Police Chief David Zibolski, City Auditor Sprague, Grant Larson, Environmental Health
Absent: Commissioner Piepkorn
Others Present: Rick Carik, Rick’s; Duane Litton, Duffy’s; Dave Glessner, Sidestreet; Dustin Mitzel, Happy Harry’s, Doug Restemeyer, D S Beverages; Francis Brown, African International Restaurant & Nightclub and other interested parties.
Meeting was called to order at 1:30 P.M.
1. Commissioner Gehrig called the meeting to order and asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of January 20, 2021. There were no additions or corrections to the minutes of January 20, 2020. Moved by Zibolski, seconded by Larson to approve the minutes of the January 20, 2020 meeting of the Liquor Control Board all voted in favor, motion passed unanimously.
2. A. Application for a Class GH alcoholic beverage license from Adibon African Cuisine Catering d/b/a Adibon A & E Fusion Cuisine to be located at 3017 13th Ave South. No issues or concerns were raised.
Moved by Sprague, seconded by Larson to approve the application for a Class GH alcoholic beverage license from Adibon African Cuisines Catering d/b/a Adibon A & E Fusion Cuisine. Motion carried.
B. Application for a Class “CW” alcoholic beverage license from The White House & Vintage Rental d/b/a The Ivy & Rose Warehouse to be located at 22 14 ½ Street North.
Sprague indicated the applicant needs to complete work before Fire, Inspection’s, Health and Police will approve the application. He said the applicant has requested a 30 day extension, the application will be considered at the next Liquor Control meeting.
3. Request from Vogel Law frim to amend the food sales requirements for the FA andFa-RZ licenses. Representatives from Vogel were not able to attend and have requested the item be considered at the next Liquor Board meeting on March 17.
Moved by Sprague, seconded by Zibolski to place the request on the March 17 Liquor Control Board meeting.
4. Sprague presented a request from Irish Hospitality d/b/a Hennessey’s for a waiver from the requirements of 25-1512 regarding the requirement to have continuous sales. In response to a question from Chief Zibolski, Attorney Morris explained the requirements of 25-1512 and that the initial fee was the reason this request is so important. Commissioner Gehrig asked what the normal timeline for these requests is. Sprague responded normally we see a 6-month period, however, finding a good location can take time and COVID further complicated the process. Moved by Sprague, seconded by Larson to approve the request for extension from Hennessey’s. Motion carried.
5. Chief Zibolski reported a couple incidents at The Empire Tavern. Both incidents involved employees. On January 23, the Fargo police department was called to a fight outside the Empire. An employee of the Empire was involved, she had gotten off work at midnight but was still on the clock at the time of the fight. When Police arrived her BAC was at a .4. The other incident involved a male employee who displayed an aggressive attitude toward police officers. The concern is about employee and management accountability. The owner informed police that both employees have been terminated. Jim Swanick said employees must show respect for officers and they must realize they are the first line of enforcement in regard to alcohol use. Moved by Chief Zibolski, seconded by Larson to receive and file.
6. Commissioner Gehrig indicated he would like to see alcohol sales in grocery stores. Requiring a separate building for off sale puts the City of Fargo at a competitive disadvantage. He stated we lost Costco because of this ordinance. Drive down Veterans Boulevard and look at the level of activity in West Fargo vs. Fargo. We are unnecessarily restricting business.
Sprague stated the various liquor ordinances were created for a reason; those reasons may no longer be relevant in today’s setting but everyone along the way has been in business with the rules in place at the time. The 100-foot rule came about in the early 1970’s when convenience stores were just becoming popular. At that time, there were concerns about the perception of drinking and driving, selling alcohol where you get your gas.
Chief Zibolski mentioned in Wisconsin they placed time restrictions on when alcohol could be sold, they also monitored the location of businesses to make sure areas did not become saturated. He stated he couldn’t think of a public safety reason to have two buildings.
Commissioner Gehrig said there needs to be a good reason for the ordinance; he said he doesn’t want to have Fargo lose more business, protectionism is not a good reason.
Moved by Sprague, seconded by Zibolski to place the 100-foot rule on City Commission agenda for discussion. Motion passed.
7. Commissioner Gehrig indicated he would like to see the restrictions on the number of off sale licenses lifted, let the market speak. Sprague commented in the past we had a cap on the number of licenses with no parameters on issuing additional licenses, the ordinances were changed so that we issue additional licenses as the population increases, we are waiting for the census to be updated. Chief Zibolski mentioned in some jurisdictions licenses are issued based on population and some add location as a factor to consider. He would be in favor of looking at the data, maybe include Moorhead also. Commissioner Gehrig commented the size of the establishment should also be a consideration.
Moved by Zibolski, seconded by Larson to prepare a report for the City Commission. Motion carried.
8. Chief Zibolski reported on incidents at the International African Restaurant and Night Club from this past weekend that were significant violations that are being referred to the City Attorney’s office for consideration of potential violations. A report will be forthcoming to the Liquor Board.
There being no further business to come before the Liquor Control Board, the meeting was adjourned at 2:01 p.m. The next regular meeting will be held Wednesday, March 17 2021 at 1:30 p.m. in the City Commission Room.
UPDATE: The Liquor Control Board will meet on Wednesday, March 24 at 1:30