Madison's late-night bar crowd can start mixing its cocktails with calamari now that the Samba Brazilian Grill will be extending its hours.
The Alcohol License Review Committee granted Samba and its conjoined Cabana Room a Class B beer and liquor license Wednesday night. The license will allow the restaurants to remain open until 1:30 a.m. from Wednesday through Saturday and until 1:00 a.m. from Sunday through Tuesday.
Previously, Samba had been open until 10 p.m. and midnight, respectively, but owner Jongyean Lee said she wanted more flexible hours"" to better accommodate her customers.
Customers like Edgewood College student Ryan Wolf were pleasantly surprised by the news.
""Samba is a good off-State Street place to come to when you kind of want to get away from the undergrad scene,"" Wolf said. Wolf praised Samba as having one of Madison's best and widest selections of beers on tap, with 34 varieties of beer served alongside a variety of wine and cocktails.
The Committee passed the license with little argument, and District 4 alder Mike Verveer pointed to the Samba's ""excellent track record"" as a major reason for granting the license.
Madison resident Rosemary Lee, who spoke during the meeting, echoed Verveer's positive sentiments.
""Samba is one of the nicer restaurants downtown,"" Lee said. ""To the best of my knowledge, patrons do not routinely get over-served there.""
Samba Brazilian Grill will now be able to capitalize on Madison's lucrative bar crowd thanks to the extension and its prime location on 240 W. Gilman Street.
