Tag Archives: liquor control board

Food and Drink, Local Business

The Oak needs support to earn liquor license

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This site on Beacon Avenue is being remodeled into The Oak. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.
The much-talked-about Oak restaurant, expected to open on Beacon Avenue this spring, has a problem. Owners Lisa Jack and Mat Brooke have received a letter from the state Liquor Control Board which states that they face possible denial of their liquor license because the Board has received 14 protest letters but only 5 letters of support for the business.

They must respond by March 26 with a statement outlining why the Oak should still be approved for a liquor license, and letters from the community will be considered as well.

Brooke and Jack attended the North Beacon Hill Council meeting last week and spoke about the project. They have taken steps to reduce neighborhood concerns, including locating the 21+ bar portion in the center of the building, to limit exterior noise; no door access to the alley, except for emergency exits; no smoking allowed in the back of the building; and no karaoke or live music. There will be all-ages kid-friendly dining space. The menu is planned to be “family-friendly” comfort food such as burgers,salads, macaroni and cheese, and sweet potato fries, with lunch and dinner seven days a week until 10 p.m. as well as weekend brunch. Ingredients will be locally-sourced.

Brooke and Jack will not be absentee owners; at the meeting, they explained that they will be living at the site themselves, and have a direct stake in the quality of the neighborhood.

After the NBHC discussion, several neighbors who live or work adjacent to the Oak site and had attended the meeting to express their concerns about a possible “tavern” moving in indicated that their concerns had been addressed and they seemed to have a much more positive feeling about the new restaurant.

It is unclear whether the protest letters the Liquor Board has received were sent before the NBHC meeting. When the news came out on the Beacon Hill mailing list last night about the Oak’s difficulty with the Board, the reaction on the list was one of surprise, with several subscribers expressing their intent to write in support of the business. In the previous discussion on the Beacon Hill Blog, the comments were overwhelmingly in favor of the Oak.

If you would like to express your opinion on the Oak, send a (snail mail) letter to the Liquor Control Board at:

Washington State Liquor Control Board
Licensing and Regulation
P.O. Box 43098
Olympia, WA 98504-3098

Here’s what has to go in the letter:

Referencing The Oak
License #408904
3019 Beacon Ave. S.
Seattle, WA 98144-5853

Food and Drink, News

La Esperanza de Seattle applies for new liquor license

According to the State Liquor Control Board, La Esperanza de Seattle at 2505 Beacon Ave. S. has made a new application for a liquor license of the type Grocery Store – Beer/Wine. This appears to be the same as a license application we wrote about last May; it is not uncommon for notifications to be re-announced with a new date if certain changes had to be made to the application.

The applicants are La Esperanza de Seattle GP, Geovanni Santacruz, and Omar Santacruz. The license number is 407963. If you wish to make any comments on this application, whether positive or negative, e-mail customerservice@liq.wa.gov.

Health and Safety, Meetings

Neighbors attempt to reduce impact of alcohol on Beacon Hill

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As usual, the 10/4 North Beacon Hill Council meeting was jam-packed with a variety of topics. The majority of the meeting was dedicated to efforts to organize an Alcohol Impact Area (AIA) in North Beacon Hill. North Beacon Hill neighbors are attempting to organize an AIA to increase public safety. To learn more, visit their Facebook page at Beacon AIAI.

AIA supporters believe that implementing an Alcohol Impact Area in Beacon Hill will increase public safety and lower costs to taxpayers by decreasing the need for first responders (Seattle Police Department, Seattle Fire Department, etc) called to assist those incapacitated by alcohol. A first step to implement an AIA is to report all incidents of public inebriation and collecting/taking photographs of all alcohol related litter (especially cans/bottles of restricted brands).

Per the WA State Liquor Control Board: “The purpose of an Alcohol Impact Area is for local authorities to have a process to mitigate problems with chronic public inebriation or illegal activities linked to the sale or consumption of alcohol within a geographic area of their city, town or county, but not the entire jurisdiction. An Alcohol Impact Area is designated by geographical boundaries as defined in Washington Administrative Code Chapter 314-12.”

The WA State Liquor Control Board evaluated AIAs in 2009. Results are here. One interesting conclusion: people living in Alcohol Impact Areas reported that they were happier!

“Overall, in comparison to the results of the 2006 survey, people living within the Alcohol Impact Areas are now more positive as evidenced by the following:
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  • 26% of people rate the overall quality of life in their neighborhood as excellent (20% in 2006)

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  • 60% of people say they notice chronic public inebriates in the neighborhood (69% in 2006)
  • 18% of people say that drug activity has increased (24% in 2006)
  • But, 28% of people say that crime has increased (23% in 2006)”

(Source: Seattle Alcohol Impact Area Evaluation Executive Summary, 2009.)

City of Seattle studies did not inquire whether residents within AIAs enjoyed a higher quality of life, but did discover:

“…A decrease in offenses related to chronic public inebriation: Adult Liquor Violations, Parks Exclusions, and Criminal Trespass. In addition, the sobering unit van also saw a 9% decrease in pick-ups over the same pre-mandatory AIA and post-mandatory AIA periods of time.” (Source: June 2008 Report on Mandatory Compliance Efforts in the Seattle Alcohol Impact Area.)

Department of Neighborhoods Program Manager Pamela Banks attended Tuesday’s meeting and cautioned that North Beacon Hill would face an uphill battle to implement an AIA. Resources and staff are currently stretched very thin in Seattle and the AIA process is difficult.

Other options to reduce public inebriation and increase public safety were discussed, including asking neighborhood businesses to voluntarily participate in a “Good Neighbor” agreement limiting sales of banned beverages and requesting increased enforcement of existing laws.

Beacon AIAI supporters hope to engage the community in efforts to make Beacon Hill safer. For more information, visit their Facebook page or email beaconaiai@gmail.com.