It is not uncommon to see gallery having wine and snack at openings, I remembered some fun time at Gallery Night in Milwaukee, but no one really care about if it is legal or not, it is just not that big of a deal. BUT, I did raise concerns because now I am standing on the side of gallery owner and property owner, I have liability issues to think about. I was quite relieved when I can have Danny's service so I do not have to get a license of my own.
Last night I was told that Mr. Barta called the police on Lynn from Almont, so I emailed him to see if it is true, Mr. Barta was honest and own it 100%. Here is his answer:
George,
Yes we did. We identified ourselves and don't apologize for it. It puts us and other bars and restaurants in a bad position when people walk into our bar with a glass of wine and we HAVE (by law) to take it away from them. We have to be the bad guy and it gives the customer a bad impression of our business, solely because someone else is ignoring the law. We have a liquor license and if we don't comply with the law then we risk losing it. You are licensed so I know that you also take your licensing responsibilities seriously, it is our livelihoods.
It may seem like a trivial complaint but it is one of those things that may seem harmless but has unintended consequences. It puts licensed establishments in a very tough spot. It is not respectful of those other businesses that ultimately have to deal with the issue.
Normally if I had a problem with a business I'd tell them rather than report them. However, we are very tired of having customers come in telling us that she is trashing our business and telling them that we are completely against FFNL, trying to put our business in a bad light. If I'm treated with respect, I'll reciprocate. I know they have been told not to do it before and she and others continue to violate the law.
It is illegal for them to be serving wine without a liquor license. Chapter 125 of the Wisconsin State Statutes deals with alcohol laws.
The following was taken from Publication 302 Wisconsin Alcohol Beverage and Tobacco Laws for Retailers
V. SALE OF ALCOHOL BEVERAGES
The term “sale,” “sold,” or “sell” includes the transfer,
gift, barter, trade, exchange, or any shift, device,
scheme, or transaction whatever, whereby alcohol beverages
may be obtained. Giving away alcohol beverages
or using any other device to evade the law relating to its
sale is an unlawful sale.
Giving away beer, wine or liquor is illegal. You can't get around the law by giving it away, if you serve it, you MUST be licensed.
I hope this answers your question completely, feel free to call me if you have additional questions.
Jeff Barta
Everyone should know by now that I advocate Peace on Main, and with recent events, I am seeing another downtown power player being on the hot seat. Some said it is karma, some said it is all about FFNL/street closure, some said it is an anti bully movement, but I just think we had long forgotten how to be neighbors. Yes, the chaos was here before and will likely be around for a while yet, and now we are entering the land of law and litigation. I am sure all the power players are looking over their shoulders, but does everyone on Main need to do the same?
One fellow merchant said it is getting thick, I have to agree.
Everyone should know by now that I advocate Peace on Main, and with recent events, I am seeing another downtown power player being on the hot seat. Some said it is karma, some said it is all about FFNL/street closure, some said it is an anti bully movement, but I just think we had long forgotten how to be neighbors. Yes, the chaos was here before and will likely be around for a while yet, and now we are entering the land of law and litigation. I am sure all the power players are looking over their shoulders, but does everyone on Main need to do the same?
One fellow merchant said it is getting thick, I have to agree.
UPDATE: I guess somebody did care... Wiggy set me straight. Just to cover my behind, I will make sure Danny double check his license or I will go get a class B myself. I will report back my finding and provide a blueprint for rest of the galleries to follow.
OK, people, take a chill pill about wine (horrors!) at the Almont. Many galleries and shops serve wine and cheese during the art crawl. Don't pretend you don't know that, Mr. Barta. That's the attraction of the event -- you can wander with friends down the street, sip some wine (or soda), have a cracker and some cheese or a cookie here and there, and look at the interesting art, jewelry and other items. Hopefully you buy something, and hopefully you end up having dinner and drinks somewhere. It is not illegal to give away a small glass of wine. It IS illegal to sell it without a license, or for the person to take that glass of wine off the premises. When I did events in Waukesha we cleared this up with the city and the police and they had no problem with it.If a new rule is going to be that there is no wine at art crawl, that needs to be enforced at all of the galleries, not just Almont. Will there be wine police going gallery to gallery and shop to shop? That’s so welcoming and friendly for the visitors.
ReplyDeleteWine police? Thank goodness we drink beer down here...we are not that sophisticated...:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for looking into this George, it is good information to have because I was told wine (alcohol) could be served at special events without having a license and I served it at my grand re-opening! It will be good to have the clarification.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair and open, here is some advice I got from Mr. Reilly and he has my attention 110%:
ReplyDeleteGeorge;
I did not want to put this on your blog because I want to leave it up to you
as to how you do future art crawls and other events where you may want to
give away a free beer or two at your gallery. I also want to leave open the
possibility that I can stop in at your place and get a beer! (and I still
need to work out how to create a profile so I can post).
Because nobody likes the answer, municipal attorneys hate having to address
the issue of whether it is ok to serve wine or beer in a non-licensed
establishment during events like art crawls. The answer is that unless the
business is licensed to serve alcohol, the statutes do not permit any
alcohol being sold or given away - unless it is a private, (invite only)
type of affair. Private invite only event means that the doors cannot be
open to the public.
I know many police departments will not issue citations though when the
giving away of alcohol is a low key type of event and everyone is being
responsible and the alcohol is truly being given away. I think the Waukesha
Police either do not know that alcohol cannot be served to the public at
events like this or they have decided that they will not issue tickets. I
personally do not have a problem with alcohol being available to those
patronizing a gallery and wish there was a statute that allowed for the
giving away of alcohol. I imagine that the reason that there isn't a law
that allows alcohol to be given away during art crawl type of events is
because it will then be taken totally advantage of by some. In other words,
the party and drinking become the reason for the event, not the Art Crawl
itself. There just isn't any way to write legislation that would allow
consumption of alcohol on non-licensed premises that wouldn't be abused by
some.
Here is the point I didn't want to make on your blog: I don't think having a
licensed bartender at your place changes the equation whatsoever. Dan won't
like my opinion but Dan has a license to sell alcohol from his premises. If
he sells (or gives away) alcohol at a place other than what is described in
his license as his premises, then it isn't being done under his license.
Maybe Dan has some type of alcohol catering license that I am unaware of. I
did spend about 1.5 hours though looking through all my alcohol licensing
material to see if the Statutes allowed an alcohol catering license but I
did not find anything. Therefore, I am quite sure that even having a
licensed bartender at your place doesn't allow for the giving away of
alcohol during Art Crawl.
So, what is the end result? I tend to think that for now the City of
Waukesha Police will not harass, molest, intimidate, threaten or cite anyone
who is giving alcohol away for free in a responsible manner even though they
could. Seems as though they have said as much in the Police Blotter in
Patch regarding Lynn Gaffey's incident. If a problem develops (over served
people hurting themselves or a fight or taking alcohol out into the street)
then the Police will probably have a different position and at that point,
the Police will probably enforce the law against everyone that is giving
away alcohol or they will be facing criticism for being selective.
If the alcohol is being sold from a place that doesn't have a license, then
I think the Police will take action right away. Basically, selling alcohol
from a retail establishment that would be making the retail establishment
into a bar without a license. That is generally frowned upon.
Wish I had a different opinion to provide. Being able to get a beer or
glass of wine does make the Art Crawl experience more enjoyable and it also
brings in more people.
Shawn
Lets all just realize that this has nothing to do with Lynn giving away alcohol. Its been going on for years. I have had wine at her gallery on past art crawls. People can read between the lines here. This is about payback and revenge and it does nothing to help the situation downtown.
ReplyDeletePeople have said Lynn is a bully and the opportunity to give her a taste of her own medicine arose and Mr. Barta took it. I can't say I blame him. If someone was going around bad-mouthing and telling people to boycott my business I would relish the chance to screw them over too.
In a perfect world he would have called down to Almont and gave Lynn a heads up that her visitors were bringing wine onto the streets and into other establishments and asked her to be more careful. That's how people working for a common goal behave. Its just unfortunate that it has gotten to this point.
Unfortunately the situation downtown has become toxic, people have picked sides and any opportunity to make the other side look bad is jumped on. Its a microcosm of what is happening around state and country. Nobody wants to work together at any level anymore and everyone suffers because of it.
Eat, there is an element of truth in what you say. I'll own that. I would normally talk to the person I have an issue with but its been a fruitless effort in the past. It was easier and more effective to make the call. It is a shame that we don't have an inclusive downtown that works together. That isn't a recent occurance, its just now there are people discussing it openly and change will eventually come.
ReplyDeleteI could care less if galleries serve wine at Art Crawls, its not competing with my business. I will support any gallery, even Lynn's, if they apply for temporary license for their Art Crawls, just don't put our business and other's in bad positions by letting it go out on the street.
I just had a conversation with a respected lawyer in town, I think I am left with two choices. I can either not have any alcohol at Art Crawl, or I have to make the artist reception into an invited only event then cater, it defeats the purpose of an art crawl. The temp class B license is not designed for a gallery but a church or a club and likely will not apply even if I want to.
ReplyDeleteNot sure I want the gallery to get a B license and become a bar even just part of the time...
Anyone out there has any idea?
It is very much a bummer.