Rockford approves letter for restaurant retail liquor license
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
By Christa Jennings
Senior Staff Writer
Following a lack of action at its August 21 meeting regarding a restaurant retail liquor license, the Rockford Town Council held a special called meeting last Wednesday afternoon for a public hearing for the appeal for that license.
Councilmember Shirley Ogle was not present for the hearing. The special called meeting lasted approximately 40 minutes for the one agenda item, and after a great deal of discussion the council ultimately approved the business moving forward with seeking its restaurant retail liquor license.
Lydia Waters; legal counsel for Tom Fuller, owner of Fuller Rolling Kitchen LLC. doing business as Crossroads; addressed the council, reviewing information from the previous meeting and stating that no motion was made regarding the liquor license. She added that during the time the restaurant had been serving alcohol there were no violations or complaints and nothing “that needed any action or anything that put the town at risk.”
She stated that they were never given a reason why the license was not granted and that they would like to know why.
Town attorney Tom Young explained that the council is required under broad conditions to determine “whether we’re dealing with somebody who’s reputable, whether this business license promotes the prosperity of the town, whether it promotes the safety, morals, convenience – all those things are taken into consideration as an umbrella to determine whether we issue a business license.”
Waters clarified that it was not the business license, as the restaurant already has a business license, but said that this was for the liquor license.
“They do not have a retail liquor business license, a restaurant liquor license, that’s what you’re trying to obtain from this Town Council,” Young said.
Waters stated that what they needed from the town was a letter of recommendation to the state. However, Young said that they need a business license that allows them to serve liquor.
“This is simply your opportunity to come in and tell us why our decision to deny the license should be reconsidered,” he added.
During discussion, Waters said that this was their opportunity to dispute the denial of the license, but that a reason was never given and they were never told why it was denied.
“They had a liquor license transferred by the state – it can be transferred by the state, according to the state ABC Board,” she said.
She further stated that the restaurant operated during July being able to serve liquor and that there were no issues or problems and that law enforcement was not called.
“Nothing happened that made this business selling liquor or beer a threat,” she said. “They are the only people that have applied for a liquor license in this town that have been denied. That’s it. So, considering they are running a reputable business that is a restaurant that happens to, or did, sell beer, I don’t see the problem, and y’all have never given us a reason as to why they can’t. I’ve read the ordinance, and I don’t understand what reasoning there is. If there was a problem, if there were issues over there all the time then I can understand, but there’s also set in place that if you grant it, and they’re selling liquor and there’s an issue – there is a very clear plan in place to yank that license, and it’s not that hard. So I don’t understand why they’re having such a hard time getting one.”
Waters went on to say that it was not the actual license they were asking the town for, but rather for the town to tell the state via a letter that it did not stand in the way of the restaurant getting a liquor license.
“The state is the one that gives the license, not the town,” she stated.
Young responded that the State of Alabama can give them whatever liquor license it wants to give them.
“The Town of Rockford reserves the right to determine who does business within its town limits,” he added. “That’s why you have to come over here. For you to say the liquor license is transferable, that’s just incorrect. If you look at the ordinances of the Town of Rockford, you’ll find out a license cannot be transferred. It’s very specific. …Now it doesn’t have any affect on what the State of Alabama tells you, because you’re asking for the privilege of doing business within the town limits of this town, and those ordinances apply to that. It is a privilege, not a right, and it’s determined by the people of this town who are represented by these six people sitting before you today.”
Young went on to say, “They had the opportunity to decide whether they’re dealing with reputable people, whether they’re dealing with people that are going to promote the safety, preserve the health, promote the prosperity, or improve the morals, the order, the comfort, and convenience of the inhabitants of this municipality. That’s what we’re talking about.”
Waters asked if Young could tell her why they are not reputable or what they have done.
Young mentioned various things that can be taken into consideration and reviewed information from the August meeting, as reported in the September 1 edition, regarding the restaurant’s sales report and the “uncategorized” sales included on that report.
“We’re taking all those things into consideration, every one of them,” he said. “Are they promoting the prosperity of the town? I don’t think so, because I don’t think this town wants as much as going on, all the drama and all, that’s going on as a result of this business. Those things can be taken into consideration. Does it promote the safety? I don’t know. Those kinds of things can be taken into consideration.”
Waters said that as far as the prosperity goes she “would think that any business that’s bringing in revenue would help prosper the town…”
However, Young stated, “Well let’s just take a house of prostitution; it may bring some business in, but I don’t think it’s going to be something the city wants.”
“OK, stop, you just compared a restaurant to a whorehouse,” Waters said.
Young responded, “You said any business, I’m just playing on the words that you used.”
Waters went on to say, “You just compared a restaurant that sells food and did sell beer for a little while to a house of prostitution. You just sat here and questioned these two applicants’ morals basically is what you did.”
In further discussion, Waters added, “You’ve clearly called into question their morals and their reputation. They have not had any issues in this town. They have not done anything to break the laws of this town, to break the ordinances; I have read them up and down. They are asking for a chance to sell beer and sometimes drinks in their restaurant. I do not understand why there is this huge resistance to this. I do not understand.”
Mayor Scott White stated that he has visited numerous establishments where customers can eat and have a drink, saying that he has no problem with those “as long as that’s what those establishments are going to do.”
Waters asked if he had ever been in this restaurant, and White said he had been in there before. Waters asked if he had been in since the Fullers were running it, and he said he had not.
“No, I don’t go places where drama is at all the time, and I’m involved in it and lies,” White stated.
In ongoing discussion, Councilmember Robert Smith mentioned a post made on social media relating to him that he found offensive. In discussing it further, he told Waters, “You said they don’t do anything to this town. I’m part of this town, and they put this thing all out on Facebook.”
Waters mentioned that being a personal issue rather than a matter of business. Smith said that they could have done the same thing to anyone in town and he would have felt the same way, adding, “It’s not just about me.”
Waters stated that all of that goes back to personal reasoning, not business.
Councilmember Nieshia Whetstone spoke up regarding her reasoning for not voting in favor of the license previously.
“I’ve been here all my life,” she stated. “I know what’s been going on here, and for me it’s embarrassing and petty. I want you guys to have your liquor license and everything, but the reason I opposed it last time is because I want to see hamburgers versus liquor. I don’t want ‘uncategorized,’ because I don’t know what’s in uncategorized. …I want you to have your liquor license, but that’s why I opposed it, because I didn’t see the correct report.”
Councilmember Cordarius Lee stated, “My issue is I really don’t have an issue, because how I look at it is like this. It’s a business, it’s revenue, and from that business license it says – not word for word, just paraphrasing – if someone wants to have an event they’re supposed to come to the council, and we approve the event, correct? So my thing is this, why not give them their liquor license? At this point, if they’ve got to come ask us to get it approved, what more can they do but serve food and alcohol? I mean, what more can they do? At this point you’re just a restaurant that serves food and liquor. Like you said in the last meeting, you said no matter what we did before, starting from that point, you take the law from that point and you put it how you want it. So now if you give them their liquor license and they say, ‘Hey, we’re going to do this,’ and if they haven’t came here and got it approved, there you go right there – hey, go shut that down. They didn’t come here, but all I’m saying is from going by the law, what more can they be? They can’t be nothing but a restaurant that serves alcohol. That’s all. That’s my opinion. I didn’t even know that happened with you [referring to Smith]. I don’t know what y’all’s reasoning, but me – I can only speak for me, and that’s why I was for it last time. I just wanted to put it out there, because if you go by the law like we say, and we’re going to do what we’re going to do, it can’t be nothing more than that. Because, hey, it’s no secret. The Mexican restaurant is coming, right? Right or wrong? I mean it’s already the talk around the city. What’s he going to want to do? He’s going to want to serve alcohol. Now if you don’t send him back through these same hoops – right or wrong? If he wants to have a karaoke night, what’s he got to do? He’s got to come right here and say, ‘Hey, I want to have a karaoke night Saturday such-and-such.’ We come here, and we sit down. Then, what would he be? Nothing more than a restaurant that does what?”
“Sells alcohol,” Whetstone answered.
“That’s all I’m saying,” Lee stated.
In further discussion, Smith mentioned the Town Council being the governing body of Rockford and asked why someone would go elsewhere to get information rather than coming to the Town Council.
“I just know they never came to the Town Council to ask for permission to transfer a license up here,” he said. “I would like an answer to that question.”
Waters stated, “The answer to your question on that is as simple as the liquor license itself is not issued by the Town of Rockford. It is issued by the State of Alabama. That is why we asked for Jenny’s license to be transferred while we got one for us. We have to get a letter from y’all stating it’s OK to go to the ABC Board for them to grant the license.”
Councilmember Lynn Anne Castleberry asked, “Did anyone ask for the ordinances that govern all of this before all of this got started?”
Waters said that they had asked for them more than once.
Castleberry went on to say, “Were the ordinances asked for when the business was started or after weeks and months of drama? Because the ordinances should have probably been asked for in the very beginning. If you’re going to do business in a town, probably need to know what the laws of that town are and what the laws are you’re expected to abide by, and then you start asking for licenses and permits and all that stuff.”
After discussion, the council unanimously approved a motion to “reconsider the denial of the restaurant retail liquor license.”
Whetstone then made a motion to approve the restaurant retail liquor license for Crossroads Bar and Grill, and Lee seconded the motion.
The motion was approved by a majority vote of 3-1 with Whetstone, Lee and Smith voting in favor and Castleberry opposing the motion.
The Rockford Town Council held its regularly scheduled monthly meeting Tuesday, September 19, which will be covered in next week’s edition.
