This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
State lawmakers have effectively put on hold Salt Lake City's plans that had envisioned hard-liquor bars in some neighborhoods.
The number of bar licenses is based on the state's population. But because population estimates have been inflated, too many licenses have been given out. To compensate, no new licenses will be awarded until the state's population catches up with the quota.
"This harms businesses," outgoing liquor-control commission Chairman Sam Granato said of the club-license shortage. "It prevents people from getting jobs and harms economic recovery efforts. The businesses that come up before have already received local approval, and have completed every requirement the state or local governments impose, but because we're out of licenses, we cannot give any out."
Said Mayor Ralph Becker through a staffer: "Finding a remedy for the current dearth of licenses should be a top priority as Salt Lake City officials and municipal governments throughout Utah work to recover from, and improve, an economic climate that has already wreaked havoc on our business community."
Vickie Ashby, spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, said it may be up to two years until a single new club license becomes available.
To put it another way, the state's population must grow by more than 93,600 people before the quota catches up with the state-imposed license quota. Liquor commissioners have approved transferring licenses to new owners who buy existing clubs. But that practice ended on July 1. Now, no more transfers will be granted until July 2012. That's when liquor permits may be sold on the open market.
Commissioners were so fearful that selling licenses would drive out small restaurants and bars that, in an unprecedented move, they asked Gov. Gary Herbert to veto the bill. He signed the legislation.
Kelly Shiotani, co-owner of the Dojo, said he was offered a liquor license for $50,000 but could not afford it. Instead he is making do with a restaurant license.
Because of the license shortage, the Dojo is among four Salt Lake City establishments that have been waiting for months for a club license. But lawmakers also have passed legislation that restaurants opening after January 2010 must keep bartenders and open bottles of liquor out of public view.
Some owners say they are losing customers.
At the Dojo, 423 W. 300 South, bartenders are not allowed to use taps built into the brick wall. Instead, they must mix drinks in a back kitchen, and pull beer from taps in a walk-in refrigerator. Shiotani says customers don't like bartenders hidden in back rooms. Despite good reviews, many customers aren't coming back, he said.
Another complication is that restaurants built before January 2010 are not required to build partitions to hide bartenders — putting establishments such as the Dojo at a disadvantage.
Jimmy Dublino at Devils Daughter, 533 S. 500 West, , says he was lucky to get a club license — but it is only a summer seasonal permit. If he can't get a winter permit to continue serving alcohol, he said he'll have to lay off employees.
Dublino could get a tavern permit to serve 3.2 beer, but he could not stock other liquor, including wine coolers. If he decides on a restaurant license, he will have to wall off his bar.
"Either way," he said, "I'm going to be in trouble."
Clubs waiting for bar licenses
• DoJo, 423 W. 300 South.
• Copper Onion, 111 E. Broadway, No. 170.
• Devil's Daughter, 533 S. 500 West.
•Grafitti Lounge, 342 S. State St.
Granted a license (since Jan.):
• Bayleaf Bar & Grub, 159 S. Main St. Transferred licenses
Commissioners have awarded existing licenses to new owners who buy clubs. In Salt Lake City this includes:
• 'Bout Time Pub & Grub, The Gateway, to open in September.
• Pitcher's Lounge at University Park Marriott.
• Rail Center, 235 N. 500 West'
• Inferno Cantina, 122 Pierpont Ave.
Source: Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.