Logan’s Madtown Restaurant and Bar permanently closed its doors Monday after the city attorney’s office filed charges against the owners in October for violating terms of its liquor license in addition to a city alcohol ordinance.
The city filed a suit against Logan’s to revoke its liquor license after the downtown bar failed an audit, requested by the Madison Police Department in July, because more than fifty percent of its profits came from alcohol sales, which is a violation of the restaurant’s liquor license and the Alcohol License Density Ordinance.
Logan’s General Manager Adam Mais, pleaded no contest to the charges at an Alcohol License Review subcommittee hearing Tuesday.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said Joe Bendetti, the owner of Logan’s, decided to escape “under the cover of darkness” when he packed up the bar valuables in a U-Haul, closed the bar and drove to Texas Monday night. By not appearing at the hearing, Bendetti left no option for Logan’s to reopen.
“We never contested the facts and the numbers, but we were going to argue for our case to stay open as a business,” Mais said.
Verveer said he believes Logan’s would have had an excellent chance of fighting the revocation because of a precedent set by other bars previously prosecuted by the city attorney’s office.
When the former occupants of Chasers contested the same charges Logan’s faced, the city suspended its license and allowed the bar to reopen after several days, according to Verveer.
Verveer said it is unfortunate that Bendetti decided to close the bar prior to the hearing Tuesday rather than appearing before the ALRC.
“I especially feel very badly for the over two dozen employees of Logan’s, many of whom are UW students, who lost their jobs without any real warning,” Verveer said.
Mais now has 15 days to surrender Logan’s liquor license before the city will revoke it, which would prohibit future occupants from receiving a liquor license for a year.
Verveer said he is optimistic Mais will surrender the license so a new tenant can move into the space.
“It is important the city not revoke Logan’s liquor license because the building would likely sit vacant for a whole year if we did,” Verveer said.
