Restaurant owners take grim view of festival's fate

VALPARAISO | After learning of the state restrictions on the sale of alcohol in open containers, some downtown restaurants predicted the rules will kill the city’s annual Popcorn Festival.

A meeting of many downtown restaurants and organizations holding liquor licenses was held Tuesday at North Coast Distributing. Also attending the meeting were the commissioner of the state’s Alcohol Beverage Commission, Valparaiso Police Chief Michael Brickner and Mayor Jon Costas.

Costas said North Coast owner Bruce Leetz volunteered to hold the meeting following complaints of problems involving alcohol at recent festivals. The complaints included loud music and obscenities coming from the former White House restaurant parking lot, which was outside the festival’s boundaries.

Although some restaurants were concerned the city was making new rules to restrict alcohol sales, Costas said no new rules or policy changes were made.

„It’s simply a better understanding of the rules that have always been in place,“ Costas said. „They are the excise laws, and we can’t alter them. The purpose of the meeting was to have a question-and-answer session so everybody will understand what is allowed and what is not allowed by the law.“

The issue of biggest concern was that, while it is legal to consume alcohol on the streets during the festival, it is illegal to serve an open container of alcohol and have the person take it out of the restaurant to consume while walking around. Some restaurants, like Pastimes, which has a carryout license, can sell closed containers, which can be consumed off the premises.

„We can’t change the laws, but we are going to make some calls to the commissioner, and we are doing some brainstorming to see if we can find a way to alleviate the concerns,“ Costas said. „One idea we tossed out, which has worked in other communities, is to create a beer garden and have a Taste of Valpo where the restaurants could participate and sell beer and food in a confined area. It’s an idea that has some promise.“

Fonnie Duron, owner of Cafe Paradiso, was one of those at the meeting and said she will not be open for the festival because „it is pointless.“

„The whole day is about walking around with a drink and listening to music,“ Duron said. „That’s over now.“

David Hugg, dining room manager for Bistro 157, said the restaurant probably will be closed. In the past, Bistro 157 offered special nonmenu items that could be carried out with a beer, had a band in the evening and served cocktails. Hugg said being able to serve carryout beer was a key factor in attracting people to the festival and the restaurants.

„Busloads of people come from all points expecting to be able to walk around with a beer in their hand, and we will not be able to do that any longer,“ he said. „I think it will put a serious damper on the festival.“

Although Pastimes can still sell beer, General Manager Karen Schoff said the open container rules will take away from the festival.

„I think it will hurt the festival a lot because it’s not what people are used to,“ Schoff said.

Costas was more optimistic.

„It’s a matter of trying to find the balance of all the things people want to do and maintaining the rules of the state,“ he said. „We’ll find a solution. People come to the festival for a lot of reasons, and this is a portion of it. It just needs to be coordinated and managed well.“

The festival is held the weekend after Labor Day each year

Source: nwitimes.com