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Liquor permit foolishness continues in Oregon District

The Oregon Historic District Society [1] fought the liquor license for Pacchia [2] too, and the license to “What you eat” the little vegetarian restaurant that was to serve vegan and macrobiotic wine, and Thai 9 [3] (update- the neighborhood approved this one- yet cost the owners an extra $40K for the permit) and Wileys and the 5th Street Wine & Deli [4]– the list goes on. Add another obstacle to development that stops the Oregon District from ever reaching its potential.

The City Commission, on Wednesday, Oct. 7, voted 4-1 to object to a liquor permit application for a bed and breakfast in the Oregon Historic District.

Leslie and Jeffery Gonya, owners of Inn Port D’Vino, 22 Brown Street, said they want to share their love of wine with inn patrons. They would like to sell wine from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday in a retail section of their establishment.

“It’s meant to be an enhancement to the bed and breakfast experience,” Leslie Gonya said.

The retail operation also would be open to the general public.

via Liquor permit rejected for Oregon District bed and breakfast [5].

Nan Whaley was the sole dissenter, showing that “the team” is occasionally capable of breaking ranks. Yet, it’s been a long time since we saw a 3-2 vote. Kudos to Ms. Whaley.

The real problem that should be addressed has nothing to do with the number of liquor vendors, it has to do with the lack of ability to deal with drunks being obnoxious. I hardly believe a B&B is going to contribute to people peeing in yards, slamming car doors or revving motorcycle engines at 2:30 a.m. or getting into fights. If the City of Dayton was able to enforce these other laws effectively, the neighbors, many of whom CHOSE to live in the neighborhood of bars and restaurants, wouldn’t be fighting against this permit.

It’s this kind of short-sightedness that stops full occupancy of the district- and allows marginal businesses to continue to operate without the ability to get fair dollars for their almost “prime” locations. Throw in the stupid rules about parking space requirements and you have the main reason why the Greene has so many new restaurants and the Oregon doesn’t.

Full disclosure: I worked with Pacchia in its first year after it had secured a permit through a loophole, and I worked with “What you eat” on getting the permit that eventually transferred to the “Blue Moon”- which was also a client.

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Andy Snow

Dave, you are mistaken about the neighborhood and the Thai 9 liquor license.  The Board of Trustees of OHDS voted in favor of the license.  There was plenty of discussion, but this turned on the concern of the land contract the new owners were involved in with regard to the building and its owner.  Please correct your commentary here to reflect an accurate portrayal of the facts.

Andy Snow

David, it was not a long protracted process.  I was on the Board of Trustees at the time, personally did the research, and recommended a vote in favor.  It passed with only one no vote by the Board.  Yes, they had to go thru the City process as always (they were NOT open yet), but the neighborhood was, in fact, in favor.    I communicated with Rob throughout the entire process. It was one of my last actions as a Trustee and my memory is very clear.  Your statement vilifying the neighborhood in this case is false.  Please set your record straight.  I was there; you were not.

Andy Snow

BTW it was a license transfer from the old Southern Belle.  Perhaps you were not aware of this.  This is why there was a process.  The “new” Southern Belle was issued a new license by the City for the new location uptown for $300. The original neighborhood DB license was sold to Thai 9 for way a similar figure with two more zeroes after it.
Just admit that you’ve made a mistake.

Andy Snow

Dave, you have this completely upside down and backwards.  Sorry.
The Southern Belle used the $30,ooo to fund their NEW location.  It was the intention all along.
The neighborhood had nothing to do with it. There were no protests.  And instead of transferring the license to the new address, the SB was able to capitalize on the license they had that was grandfathered from before the neighborhood received historic district status.   And Thai 9 did so well in their location that they paid off their building a year ahead of their timeline and easily covered the cost of the transferred license.   The Southern Belle was able to create a new location uptown near the Ballpark.
This was a win-win for Dayton, yet you twist it around to vilify.  An apology please.
Once again, you demonstrate that above all else (and in the face of the truth), you have to be right… Well, once again, wrong answer!   Man, you’re simply unbelievable.

Jeff

I think the controversy over the 5th Street Deli pretty much confirms the POV of the Oregon residents.  Some of the best commentary on this is at the DDN site for once, about the OD neighbors.
 
 
I understand the history of the area, that it was skid row filled with dive bars and the Oregon “pioneers” wanted to clean that up.  But that was then and this is now.

Andy Snow

Thank you Dave.  I lived the big picture; I was simply asking for a correction in this case for the sake of accuracy in history. I completely agree with you that the OD parking overlay is dysfunctional and inappropriate; I’ve long advocated for the same policy as the CBD; yet empty buildings abide.  To the rest, I will not attest; it is not my neighborhood now. I was simply providing a narrative of my personal experience of the events when it was.  Win – lose; it’s not my perspective; it’s not my agenda.

truddick

I recall when the denizens of the Oregon district were stumping to get parking decals so that people who lived outside their district couldn’t park there.
The process is not about fairness, otherwise the district would not have willingly violated its own 17-license limit in favor of some facilities but not for others that were less threatening to their alleged peace.
Limiting package sales does nothing to reduce unruly behavior.  I prefer to drink at home; it’s cheaper, the company is better, I get to choose my entertainment, and I don’t disturb anyone else’s sensibilities.
If the residents of Oregon want to promote responsibility and public calm, they will petition the city to quit closing Wayne Avenue (an important access route between parts of downtown and Miami Valley Hospital) in order to facilitate drunken revelers’ access to the Dublin Pub–and insist that on-street consumption of alcohol be treated on Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day the same way it is on the other 363 days of the year.  Those are the things that disrupt their neighborhood; purchasing a bottle of Cab at a bed-and-breakfast will have none of those negative effects.

Drexel Dave Sparks

It’s all pretty ridiculous when I consider that I see Dayton Police driving past with no questions asked guys walking around in broad daylight drinking 40-ouncers in certain neighborhoods.