Parental Control: City officials will ‘keep an eye’ on new bars

As restaurateurs craft blueprints to open up eateries in College Park, city officials said they are wary to allow novice owners to serve hard liquor in their establishments from the get-go.

While members of the College Park City Council said prohibiting such eateries from selling hard liquor for the first six months of operation will not deter owners from setting up shop downtown, attorney Linda Carter said the restrictions make it more challenging for businesses to earn a profit. City officials eventually dropped this caveat to an upcoming sports grill — councilmembers did not think the Prince George's Board of License Commissioners would uphold that same policy — but they said officials will carefully monitor establishments with younger owners without previous experience.

"The city is trying to make sure the businesses come in here for the long haul and meet with the city rules and regulations," said newly elected District 3 Councilman Robert Day. "I think the city wants to keep an eye on them and watch them grow."

And as Big Play Sports Grill owners gear up to fill the abandoned spot of the now-defunct Vito's Pizzeria, co-owner Ezetrick Coleman said he understands creating a viable business model, sans hard liquor, is important.

"We really want to be a part of the community," Coleman said at a Nov. 15 council meeting. "We understand college kids are going to be a bunch of our audience, but we want to have somewhere where it can be family oriented too."

Several students said certain types of restaurants have appropriate atmospheres for hard liquor, and a sports grill fits that mold.

"I'd probably want to check it out if it looked cool, but if I was going out at night, I'd be less likely to go there," said junior accounting and finance major Alex Blum, adding he would be less inclined to watch a sports game at a restaurant that couldn't serve hard liquor.

But in order to attract a wide range of patrons, the prices need to be competitively low. This would have been impossible if the City Council had implemented the six month restriction on hard liquor, as revenue from alcohol purchases can be vital to sustaining a new business, Carter said.

"You have to look at the business model," she said. "Certain models don't rely heavily on any one portion for their business, but without any one portion they can't compete. … They wouldn't be on the same playing field."

The council's initial hesitation mirrors a contentious 4-3 vote to support allowing Vito Riccio — who was 28 at the time — to sell hard liquor in Vito's Pizzeria right away. Although Riccio appealed again to the council and was granted the ability to serve liquor after five months, councilmembers originally decided Big Play Sports Grill should wait out the six months. If it is actually a restaurant geared toward parents and alumni as well as students, liquor shouldn't be an essential ingredient, several councilmembers said.

"Typically more of the small business places like [Big Play Sports Grill] … they don't have a lot of experience going in, so we wanted them to take things one step at a time," District 2 Councilman Bob Catlin said.

These restrictions were not placed on new restaurants like Looney's Pub — a sports bar where hard liquor is a crucial part of the business plan, Catlin said — and where the owners have more experience, councilmembers said.

More than a month after Vito's started serving alcohol, city officials questioned if the spot was operating in accordance with its property use agreement. In February, a University Police officer saw the venue's lights were off, music was blaring from the spot and bouncers were charging a fee. University Police also found an underage girl inside the bar.

Carter said Big Play Sports Grill's three co-owners — at least one of whom will be at the restaurant during working hours — will keep it under strict supervision.

"I think College Park is legitimately concerned with businesses going in that have problems complying with the law," Carter said. "They want businesses to succeed and make it, but make it within the confines of the law."

kirkwood@umdbk.com