Tuesday, August 20, 2024–11:40 a.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
The Rome Alcohol Control Commission voted Monday to table a proposal to eliminate future variance requests for the 50-50 food-to-drink ratio, opting instead to recommend that the issue be studied further.
Unless a variance is granted, establishments in the City of Rome that sell distilled spirits by the drink must also be a restaurant, selling at least as much food as liquor. The ratio does not apply to beer and wine. A small bar ordinance that was proposed would have eliminated the need for variances. However, after failing for a third time to gain approval from the Rome City Commission, that ordinance appears to be dead for now.
Steve Smith with Harvest Moon Café told the ACC that he wants to see a moratorium on all new variance requests in the downtown area, expressing a concern that more bars that don’t have to sell food could take business away from stand-alone restaurants that sell alcohol.
“You’re inviting the foxes into our henhouses,” he said. “Full-service restaurants need that bar business to be successful. Ours at Harvest Moon is certainly unattainable without that bar business.”
Currently, there are three establishments downtown that have been granted variances from the food-to-drink ratio. Old Havanna is permitted to use the sale of tobacco products to count toward their ratio. Owner Steven McDowell suggested the city keep the variance process alive, but maybe amend it so that there is a test period. For instance, an established business would have to have a beer and wine license for three years before they could apply for a variance to sell liquor.
“Then, I feel like after five years there should be a second review to make sure that license holder is maintaining all the rules and regulations to keep that license,” McDowell said. “That way, you put the duty and the process on the individual.”
The city commission’s representative on the ACC, Wayne Robinson, told the committee that the commission intends to put a moratorium in place on any new beer, wine, and liquor licenses until there is time to define what the vision is for the downtown area.
“Our ordinances have been like the cheese that has all the holes in it,” he said. “It’s just been all over the page. However that got started, it probably shouldn’t have.”
Earlier this year, the city commission implemented moratoriums for coin-operated amusement machines and vape shops. The COAM moratorium was lifted when a new local ordinance regarding gaming machines was put into place. The vape shop moratorium remains in place.
Brandon Pledger, whose business Alibi Prohibition Lounge and Combat Market, also currently has a variance, is fearful that moratoriums are becoming a precedent.
“Anything that we don’t like or that we can’t take care of, we are just going to stop it indefinitely until we figure out what we are going to do,” he said. “We need to improve our processes instead of eliminating them or coming up with worse processes.”
Assistant Rome City Attorney Sam Lucas told the ACC a moratorium would have to be added to the meeting agenda for there to be a vote. Since there didn’t seem to be a consensus among members of the ACC, he suggested they take no action and schedule a work session so the issue could be hashed out.
The work session, which has yet to be scheduled, is expected to include city commissioners, ACC members, and Rome Downtown Development Director Aundi Lesley.