Mailbag

Che's Lounge Owner Clarifies 'Brewing Concerns'

Regarding "Brewing Concerns" (Currents, March 10): Che's Lounge in no way wants beer sales at the Fourth Avenue Street Fair curtailed. We support the Street Fair and its continued presence on Fourth Avenue. While I can't speak for Scott Cummings, he has tried to address concerns about the way alcohol is sold at the Street Fair. Kurt Tallis was certainly not caught off-guard by these concerns.

Steve Kozachik agreed to meet with two representatives of the Fourth Avenue Merchants Association and two business owners. Scott asked my partner, Jill Brammer, to attend, partly because she served on the FAMA board and understands both sides.

Four issues relating to liquor laws were discussed. First: It's an obscure technicality that unless an ID is logged, it is not considered to have been legally checked. It is my understanding that FAMA booths will now be logging IDs. Second: Property owners and residents within 300 feet must be notified before a special-events license is granted. FAMA has used a point at Fourth Avenue and Sixth Street from which to send notifications. We believe the requirement calls for boundaries of the entire event.

Third: While there are different requirements for an extension-of-premises permit versus a special-event license, the city's own special-events liquor application asks which type of fencing will be provided. The fourth issue has to do with liability: Serving alcohol responsibly is of paramount importance.

I take umbrage at Bill Nugent's assertion that he didn't attend the meeting because he doesn't agree that beer booths hurt bar business. The meeting was limited to six people, and Che's Lounge makes no assertion that the beer booths hurt business. We only want to see that FAMA abides by the same laws and regulations as the bars do every day.

James Vancza, co-owner, Che's Lounge


Correction

The picture published with "Center of the Community" (Currents, March 17) shows the old El Paso and Southwestern Railroad Depot on Congress Street, not the Toole Avenue train depot. We apologize for the mistake.