The university-area establishment that Playboy Magazine rates as the third-best college bar in America could see get its last call.
The Kollege Klub, 529 N. Lake St., a UW-Madison landmark, will soon face the city's first revocation hearing in more than four years. This hearing, tentatively scheduled for Dec. 10, will determine whether numerous allegations of gross misconduct in regards to underage drinking are true, and will weigh the options of revoking the bar's liquor license.
The Alcohol License Review Committee designed a point system for Madison bars that keeps track of the amount of illegal alcohol sales to minors based in police reports, among other criteria. According to the city's legal complaint, the Kollege Klub has accumulated in excess of 200 points of violations on 17 counts of permitting underaged persons on the premises.
Although details are shrouded in secrecy due to legal restrictions, assistant City Attorney Jennifer Zilavy revealed during Wednesday's ALRC meeting that a plea-bargain offer lessening the severity of the charges brought against the Kollege Klub had been presented to the ownership, but not yet agreed upon. The offer is valid until Monday, when it will be withdrawn.
ALRC chair Ald. Tim Bruer, District 14, while unable to comment directly in regards to the legal action mounting against the Kollege Klub, stressed that although most Madison bars and restaurants have done an exceptional job of voluntarily cracking down on underage drinking, there exist a few establishments that operate as if they were above the law.
\Alcohol is where the right and left meet in politics. Our job is to be a balance, the bridge between them,"" Bruer said. ""There's only a handful that believe that they can put profits ahead of health and safety and the law. And for them, they always get netted.""
During the meeting, Madison Police Department Sgt. Emil Quast said the legal complaints against Kollege Klub define the bar as a ""disorderly house,"" a location deemed as a high-traffic area for frequent violations of the law.
The MPD recently put into place a program designed to covertly assess area bars intended to give evaluations on how they're running their businesses. Plain-clothes officers have been utilized to conduct the appraisements.
