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By Jennifer Maerz
The livelihood of San Francisco's best-known all-ages
venues is under siege based on issues that have
nothing to do with public safety, but rather on
archaic views of how a nightclub should operate.
The state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, or
ABC, has spent the last year citing Bottom of the
Hill, Slim's,
Great American Music Hall, and Café du Nord for such
minor offenses as changing their opening hours or not
making
enough income from food sales. These crackdowns come
with the threat of severe consequences, ranging from
hefty
fines to temporary suspensions to lost liquor licenses
— all for alleged infractions that have little to do
with hosting safe
shows for underage kids.
It would be one thing if these establishments were
breaking state liquor laws by serving minors. But that
isn't the case here. ABC says the venues are being investigated based
on claims that they're operating outside their initial
business
plans. The owners and their attorneys counter that
they're being penalized by overzealous ABC agents.
"They're just
doing a power grab," says Mark Rennie, an attorney for
Great American and Slim's.
ABC officials won't comment on these specific cases,
but director Steve Hardy issued this statement: "The
Department
hopes to reach a resolution on the licensing issues
involving some entertainment venues in San Francisco."
A resolution should extend beyond the parties involved
here, though, to prevent this state agency — that
doesn't even
recognize nightclubs as a type of business — from
micromanaging operations in a way that doesn't serve
the public
good.
Since 2008, actions by ABC have drained these small
businesses of tens of thousands of dollars in legal
fees, causing
them to take substantial financial hits during a
recession. It's a process Rennie calls "Death by 1,000
legal fees." The
clubs have had to freeze pay raises, postpone flyering
for shows, and put off general maintenance for roofs
and
bathrooms as their reserves go to their attorneys.
Dawn Holliday, general manager at Slim's and Great
American, says
those clubs spent $152,000 fighting ABC in 2008 and
another $56,000 already in 2009.
As the big four work through their ABC hearings, some
owners worry that they'll lose their liquor license
completely —
making it impossible to stay open. It's such a serious
issue that State Senator Mark Leno and Supervisor Ross
Mirkarimi have met with ABC, intervening on behalf of
the all-ages venues.
But the fight is far from over.
A major problem stems from the fact that live music
venues are classified as restaurants, in the language
of the ABC.
"We don't license nightclubs," says ABC spokesman John
Carr, who clarifies that his agency licenses bars
(21+) and
restaurants (no age limit). "A lot of people use the
term nightclub, but it's not a term we like."
This is a ridiculous attitude that gets to the heart
of the matter: There's a big difference between a
restaurant (where
people go with a meal in mind) and a club (where
people go with music in mind). They are not one and
the same; one
shouldn't have to jump through the hoops of the other.
There isn't a specific liquor license for all-ages
music venues. Under current state law, places like
Great American are
licensed as a "bona fide public eating place" because
restaurants are the only public businesses that can
serve alcohol
with minors present. Leno says it's currently up to
the ABC to deem what percentage of these businesses'
sales should
come from food. "They could say 40 percent or they
could say 60 percent," he says. "They get to make the
determination, and it's pretty much up to the
establishment to take it or leave it."
When Bottom of the Hill added a new business partner
eight years ago, ABC tacked on the requirement that 50
percent
of the club's income had to come from the kitchen. The
owners say they've never previously had a problem with
ABC
— or the neighbors, or the police, for that matter —
since first opening in 1991. But last year ABC
suddenly started
investigating their kitchen sales, citing Bottom of
the Hill for not hitting its contractual mark even
though it serves
meals to customers and bands every night that it's
open (hard to miss that giant neon "Eat" sign over the
kitchen).
Bottom of the Hill's Ramona Downey says that no
nightclub could reasonably make half its money off
food sales. Leno
backs up her claim, adding, "They've done nothing
wrong. They're trying to be something they're not so
they can have
their license."
The situation with Café du Nord, Slim's, and Great
American is slightly different. The owners of these
venues claim that
ABC is coming after them based on misinterpretations
of operating hours (nitpicking about door times versus
the
hours when the staff starts work, for example) and
holding them to conditions for food sales that were
never on their
original licenses. All three clubs offer dinner menus.
"They're writing their own rules," Café du Nord's
co-owner Guy
Carson says. "These aren't laws; they're trying to
strongarm people into agreeing with them."
ABC has remained mute about what instigated these
venue investigations, but its critics blame overly
aggressive agents.
"I've been practicing law for 30 years, and I've never
seen anything like this," Rennie says.
Regardless of what started this situation, it's clear
the direction this issue needs to take. These clubs
shouldn't have to
drain their resources fighting about whether they're
selling enough hamburgers to patrons who, let's face
it, often eat
before they go to a show anyway. They also shouldn't
be legally bickering with a state agency over opening
their doors a
little later (especially when, according to Rennie, it
can take more than two years to get new business hours
approved by
ABC).
Doug Boehm
Subject(s):
All ages clubs by Jennifer MaerzCalifornia legislators
need to draft new standards to fit the all-ages
nightclubs that exist
now, standards that aren't left open to the
interpretation of whatever ABC official happens to be
on duty. It's reasonable
to ask these venues to serve food, especially when
kids often aren't allowed to leave a rock club once
they enter. But
jacking up expectations that don't fit with the basic
concept of a music venue (Bottom of the Hill is not
the next
Delfina) leaves business owners far too vulnerable.
Leno says he's hopeful that continued negotiations
with ABC will have positive results for the all-ages
clubs, but he also
leaves open the possibility of changing the way these
music venues are regulated. "We may find it's
necessary to
statutorily create a new kind of license," he says.
Live music is a huge part of San Francisco's
livelihood—from both an entertainment and an economic
standpoint. The
all-ages component weaves kids into this vital
cultural fabric, while employing a whole class of
workers, from bartenders
to sound engineers and promoters. Bottom of the Hill,
Great American, Slim's, and Café du Nord aren't the
corner dives
you hit with a cheap fake ID for underage drinking.
The ABC should stop wasting time counting hamburgers
and
instead worry about the California venues where minors
really are being put at risk.
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