The owner of downtown bar Stage 1 is asking the Brown County Circuit Court to reverse the Green Bay City Council’s decision to not renew the bar’s liquor license, alleging the procedure was “unfair” and the nonrenewal made as a “product of bias.”
In a brief two-page petition filed Sept. 4, bar owner Alexander Graziano alleged he hadn’t been given “the proper opportunity” to address concerns that he said led to the City Council’s initial decision to not renew his bar’s liquor license, and that the “initial nonrenewal recommendation was unfair.”
Graziano, who is self-representing, further alleged that the recommendation to not renew his bar’s liquor license by both the police department and City Council was “the product of bias,” and that the evidence leading to the City Council’s final nonrenewal decision “did not adequately support the initial reason for the nonrenewal recommendation.” He is seeking a jury trial on the matter.
The police department and the city’s Law Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The police department told the City Council on June 10 and again on Aug. 5 that the bar, 231 N. Broadway, had repeatedly violated its stipulation agreement with the police, a condition that city municipal code states is enough to revoke a bar’s liquor license.
During the City Council’s Aug. 5 quasi-judicial hearing, Assistant City Attorney Rachel Maes said the bar’s repeated failure to follow its stipulation agreement led to safety concerns and disturbances in the area. While she said Graziano had made some good-faith efforts, Maes pointed to 17 meetings with police and 18 incidents requiring police action. “This isn’t the kind of compliance we expect from our liquor license holders,” Maes said at the meeting. “The city has plenty of reason to and evidence supporting nonrenewal of this license.”
Jesse Lin is a reporter covering the community of Green Bay and its surroundings, as well as politics in northeastern Wisconsin. Contact him at 920-834-4250 or jlin@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Stage 1 bar appeals liquor license nonrenewal in Brown County court, claims decision was ‘product of bias’
Reporting by Jesse Lin, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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