A typical student walking the Friday night bar scene may think the biggest decision in opening a new tavern is décor, location and staffing. However, many students may be surprised to find that the city has specific, detailed regulations about when and where new bars can open up.
One ordinance the city's alcohol policy coordinator Katherine Plominski reviews annually is the Alcohol License Density Ordinance. The policy is a city statute enacted in 2007 that caps the number of alcohol licenses in the downtown Madison area.
By changing these policies, city officials and authorities aimed to create a safer drinking environment for Madison residents and university students, as well as increase communication between the city and the university, according to Plominski.
No new alcohol license-holding establishment is allowed in a pre-determined area of the campus and downtown State Street area, unless it is replacing a bar.
""If Urban Outfitters closed that would not be able to turn into a bar. But if Mondays closed or Wando's closed ... somewhere with a license, you could take that place and turn it into something that has that as its existing use,"" Ald. Bryon Eagon, District 8, said. ""So if a new place wants to go in, they do have to have different standards for their food-to-alcohol ratio.""
""[This review helps] monitor and make sure that one policy is not inadvertently affecting another,"" Plominski said. ""So by perhaps putting a cap on bars, would that lead to house parties, which then would lead to more violence?""
For the critics who believe the density plan is too restrictive, Plominski notes that it does not prevent a restaurant—which is defined as an establishment with 50 percent or more of sales in food — from becoming a bar or nightclub after hours.
""That's essentially our problem. Our definition says, ‘We'll let you come in as a restaurant as long as more than 50 percent of your sales are in food,'"" she said. ""So that's the perfect example of Frida's. Frida's has 65 percent of their revenue coming from food, but if you walk in there at 11 p.m., it's a full-out nightclub. A lot of our restaurants, take the Nitty Gritty, they are bona-fide restaurants based on percentage sales, but they are bars and nightclubs at night.""
The density plan will open the doors for possible changes or just non-renewal.
Dawn Crim, a non-voting member of the Alcohol License Review Committee who represents UW-Madison, said from the university's perspective, they would like to see the plan continue with some adjustments.
""You know, when you start out with a new plan and all the goals, you're excited about all the possibilities a new ordinance can do,"" she said. ""And crime has been reduced, capacity has been reduced. But where we've fallen short is trying to change the mix of retail downtown from fewer establishments with alcohol, and it's just challenging.""
Part of the reason Crim said she felt the plan has fallen short is that it has not assisted in attracting other businesses, such as a movie theater, or others that can provide entertainment or retail without contributing to only a narrow slice of the population.
""I'd love for an establishment to be in place where it caters to an older-age demographic,"" she said.
Based on informal conversations, Plominski said she feels there is a strong will among Common Council members to continue the policy, and she agrees with Crim that the plan could be tweaked to improve its viability.
Eagon, in contrast, has not been a proponent of the plan in any form.
""I think that the proposal should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis rather than a blanket geographical area, "" he said. ""I do think that some reforms to the current plan are necessary for more multi-use spaces.""
Eagon used the sports bar, The Badger Hall of Fame Grill, that almost took up occupancy in University Square last summer, as an example of a great proposal because it provided balance of food and drinks, but also interactive games in a fun atmosphere.
""There were quite a few concerns that maybe it would violate the density plan,"" Eagon said. ""So that deterred support for it, which I don't think is the right approach to prevent new places from coming in, and that sort of brings it back to the case-by-case basis.""
Segredo, the new boutique bowling lounge that opened up in the former space of Madison Avenue, is a good model for that mixed-use, all-ages interactive kind of place ""that students and people downtown should want,"" Eagon added.
Another change in alcohol policy occurred last spring, during Madison's annual liquor license renewal time. According to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, who represents most of the downtown area, the Madison Police Department used a new tactic to penalize establishments for violations.
Verveer said over the past several years the police focused much of their effort on alcohol enforcement because it could prevent other crimes.
""[The police have] placed a huge amount of importance on alcohol enforcement,"" he said. ""They believe in large part ... that almost all major crime downtown stems from alcohol.""
Operations Lieutenant Kristen Roman of the MPD said there are several ways to bring a complaint to the ALRC about an establishment with a liquor license. Last spring, the MPD began requesting that the ALRC not renew certain bars' liquor licenses to create a more efficient discipline process.
Police first tested the new process on four bars: Madison Avenue, Johnny O's, Ram Head and the Kollege Klub, all of which have had numerous police complaints and punishments in the past, Roman said.
""In each of these cases there were slightly different reasons for each of the establishments that kind of stood out, but they were data driven,"" she said. ""They were based on having attempted earlier interventions that were less severe, to no avail, and the problems continued ... so it isn't just that there was one incident or two incidents, it was over time.""
Plominski said these bars did not change their behavior after the enforced punishments and, as a result, violence occurred.
""[There were] pregnant women fighting, people pulling knives. I mean just like the stuff you don't normally read about,"" she said. ""When a bar gets on my radar, it's almost never for just a basic bar fight.""
Madison Avenue and the Kollege Klub reached an agreement with police, which stated that their liquor licenses would be renewed under the conditions of a 30-day suspension and other security restrictions.
Johnny O's license was not suspended because the owner, Jon Okonek, also owns Madison Avenue and the punishments for the two bars were grouped together. The bars' suspension was served over the summer.
Ram Head was also punished with the same 30-day suspension and was told it could renew its liquor license after the month-long period.
While Ram Head's license was suspended over the summer, the Kollege Klub was closed just this winter from December 13 until January 11.
Critics have said that since the Kollege Klub served its suspension during winter break, it wouldn't be a severe enough punishment.
However, Jordan Meier, the general manager of the Kollege Klub, said ""[The suspension] affects our employees who rely on their pay. Whether we're making money ... it's irrelevant.""
Now back in business, the Kollege Klub has made several changes to its alcohol policy. ""[We are] using a black light at the front door [and] confiscating IDs,"" Meier said.
The Kollege Klub has also taken measures to ensure a safer environment. According to Meier, the bar now saves its video surveillance for 21 days and has increased the number of bouncers on busy nights.
As a result, Meier has already noticed an improvement: ""I think this new police policy and general attitude toward enforcement in the bars in Madison is helping the entire bar scene ... the amount of disturbances, the amount of physical altercations, the amount of overly intoxicated people has just been down in general.""
He attributes part of this progress to the new relationship between the police and the bars.
With a recent city subcommittee debating the density plan, it's possible other bars like the Kollege Klub may see changes in the near future.
Like alcohol, it's clear that when it comes to the city's bar policies, one decison can have a big impact.
