David Epstein opened Tom’s Town back in January. He says he’s limited on what he can do with his liquor license.
“This is one of the red wines that we can sell, we can sell one red wine, one white wine. This is one of reds. It’s delicious, but if you don’t like it, you’re out of luck here,” said Epstein.
He can only sell one beer. Doors close at 11 p.m., but he would like to stay open later.
The old liquor license gave surrounding businesses a say based on how many parcels they have. Epstein blames property owner Brad Nicholson, who owns the majority of the land around him, for the restrictive liquor license.
In April, City Council amended the liquor license to give surrounding businesses at most a 10 percent say. It also expands the area in which a business has a say.
Epstein says the new rules will help him.
“The majority of the consensus are owned by one man and in Kansas City, and it’s not one man one vote, it’s one property one vote,” said Epstein.
The owner of the Sundry says he has faced the same issues.
“We’re limited to 15 linear feet of shelf space for beer and wine and then we can have six linear feet of space in the cooler, but that has to duplicate what is on the shelf,” says Sundry owner Ryan Wing.
Nicholson did not speak to 41 Action News on camera, but he said off camera he has tried to accommodate the Sundry and Tom’s Town on multiple occasions. His big concern is making sure the Crossroads does not veer away from being an arts district.
“We need to have restrictions on hours and the use of some of these clubs. If they don’t like it, go somewhere else. They are basically predators on an incredibly wonderful part of town that was created in large part by Brad Nicholson,” said Steve Glorioso, a consultant for Nicholson who also happens to live in the Crossroads.
Glorioso and other business owners have started a petition to put the changes to the liquor license to a public vote. They have already gathered about 2,500 signatures and need about 3,400 to put the issue to a public vote.
------
Ali Hoxie can be reached at ali.hoxie@kshb.com
