The Advisory Neighborhood Council recommended that Alcohol Board of Control not renew the liquor licenses of several Georgetown bars at a meeting on Tuesday. Four bars sought to renew their liquor licenses and in all but one case the ANC unanimously voted to protest the renewal.
Of the four bars, only Third Edition sent a representative to Tuesday night’s meeting. Two ANC members, including Georgetown student Justin Wagner (SFS ’03), abstained from voting in the motion concerning Third Edition.
Overcrowding was the main problem that was brought up against Third Edition, said ANC commissioner Justin Kopa (CAS ’03). “Nothing was mentioned about underage drinking,” he said. “The representative said that they have been working very hard, and they are making a lot of progress,” Kopa added.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Third Edition owner Greg Talcott said that the bar only uses one entrance now in order to regulate the problem of overcrowding. “We’re trying very hard to comply with fire marshalls,” Talcott said. “Our capacity is 245 people, and we’ve made a lot of improvements recently … 245 is way too few, it doesn’t reflect our actual capacity,” he said.
Talcott said yesterday that “Third Edition and the ANC are planning on meeting … and everything’s going to work out just fine.”
One night this summer Third Edition had three times their capacity, said ANC Commissioner Bill Starrels. “The fire marsalls were doing a favor by letting the people leave … These guys need to learn how to play by the rules,” Starrels said.
Representatives from Third Edition will meet later this month with the ABC to further discuss its liquor license renewal.
The vote recommending the ABC not renew the liquor license of Champions, another bar frequented by Georgetown students, was unanimous. “The ANC vigorously spoke out against them for getting a liquor license,” said Kopa.
Wagner said that he had met with the manager of Champions before the meeting and had planned to support its case on Tuesday.
“I had a conversation with the manager before the meeting … [and] they’ve cleaned up their act,” he said. Wagner said that he decided to vote against the renewal of Champions’ liquor license on Tuesday because the bar did not send a representative to the meeting, which he said showed a lack of respect for the ANC.
He said the personal account that Georgetown resident John Wannen gave of his son being assaulted by two men returning from Champions last year was also a factor that changed his mind on his vote. Wagner also cited the death of David Schick (MSB ’02), who died last year after engaging in a fight when returning from Champions, as a reason why members of the ANC voted against the renewal of the bar’s liquor license.
“[Champions] is improving, but it is not operating up to the standards of a liquor establishment,” said Wagner. “Under no circumstances do I want to shut down Champs,” he said. Wagner said that he did not believe that the ANC’s decision would have much impact on the lives of Georgetown students. “It’s still going to be a student bar, it’s still going to be a good time, but it’s got to be a safe good time,” he said.
Calls placed Tuesday and Wednesday to Champion’s were not returned.
Wannen, who lives on Prospect St., said that the problem of rowdy behavior caused by drunk students has arisen only in the past five years. He said that Third Edition had made a significant improvement in its overcrowding problem in the past year, but all of the bars in the Georgetown area still need improvement.
“Responsible bartending means more than ringing the cash register,” Wannen said. He also said that he did not support the closing of the bars because he believed that they would just be replaced with new bars. Wannen supports the new Metropolitan police department program targeting underage drinking, which is to be implemented this weekend. He did not think that the solution to alcohol-related problems is to increase the visibility of police officers in the community.
“Who wants to live like that? With armed policemen on every corner? We simply need to work with these people,” he said. “I don’t think there’s one solution here … There must be a community effort … [and] community support for the police effort … You’ve really got to attack this on all sides,” he added.
Wannen’s son Kit suffered numerous injuries after being physically assaulted by two men apparently returning from Champions approximately six weeks before the death of Schick. “These are not people that you would be afraid to walk past on the street,” Warren said, “They don’t realize what they’re doing … Although they’re all grown up physically, they still don’t have the maturity to understand what’s going on.”
Conversations between community members and the local bar owners is a necessary step in the right direction, Wannen said. “We should be able to let everyone enjoy themselves and act responsibly … Once you sit down and talk to the people of the community, things start to change,” he said, “We weren’t having conversations like this two years ago … We have to keep up the momentum.”
