#New phoenix gay bar license
The board also recommended that the Library, a Georgia Tech bar known for wet T-shirt contests, lose its license after bartenders were caught selling alcohol to minors. Two weeks later, on April 12, undercover officers arrested two of the bar's male patrons for having oral sex in the bar.Īccording to License Review Board meeting minutes, five bar or restaurant owners have come before the board on charges of liquor law violations since March 15. On March 27, the Phoenix's bartender was cited for operating half an hour past the city's mandated 3 a.m. Last week, the board recommended that the Phoenix's liquor license be revoked on the basis of two violations that occurred this spring. Longtime 24-hour nightclub Backstreet, and Metro Video Bar, both in Midtown, were shut down after lengthy licensing battles with the city. The Phoenix now stands to become the third gay bar to lose its license in the past year-and-a-half. That's because no warning letters are sent, not even in the case of an arrest occurring outside the bar. And bar owners sometimes have no knowledge of allegations against them until days before they must defend their right to pour. The rules that apply in a court of law do not apply to License Review Board hearings, meaning hearsay and conjecture are fully admissible. What's more, the board can revoke a license based on mere allegations of illegal activity - not convictions. Often, a volume of complaints from vociferous neighbors, regardless of the volume of illegal activity, is the impetus for a bar having to go before the board. Depending on how active local neighborhood groups are, certain bars get reported for license-revoking activity more frequently. Other offenses can be considered by the board, too.īut some bars are more apt to end up before the board than others.
It's the Atlanta Police Department's policy that any time a bar is cited for pouring to minors or staying open after-hours, or for any drug or prostitution activity inside or just outside the establishment, the bar is automatically referred to the License Review Board.
The bar's lawyer, Cary Wiggins, says the Phoenix has fallen victim to a "campaign of harassment" instigated by pushy neighborhood groups that want to further gentrify the Ponce corridor. Neighbors of the Phoenix claim the bar has been a hotbed of drugs and prostitution.īut the Phoenix's management is crying foul. The board's decision delighted members of the Midtown Neighbors' Association, a group that has supported the city's case against the Phoenix. Franklin now has 90 days to act on the recommendation. 29, the city's License Review Board unanimously voted to recommend that Mayor Shirley Franklin revoke the Phoenix's liquor license. And the Phoenix, a gay bar that has been open on Ponce de Leon Avenue for 17 years, is about to lose that privilege. According to the city of Atlanta, a liquor license is a privilege, not a right.