For months, friends on Beacon Hill have looked forward to the opening of the Oak, an eatery/drinkery from the people who brought you Capitol Hill's Redwood, which was scheduled to open in near the long-dormant space formerly occupied by the Beacon Pub.

Then, the Beacon Hill Blog alerted people to the flyers being passed around the neighborhood, with the headline, “Are You Aware?” The text of the flyer:

“Are you aware that there is a pending application with the Washington State Liquor Control Board for our new neighbor @ 3019 Beacon Ave. South to operate a TAVERN in our neighborhood? … This will definitely impact all of us (positive or otherwise) but the bottom line is that we should have a say about this matter. We are asking you to get involved!”

The concerned parties' argument, in a nutshell, as reported by BHBlog:

Mateo and Lewis are concerned that The Oak, as a drinking establishment, won’t be a good fit for the location, which is a commercial building but has residences directly adjacent to the south and west. Mateo said, “Please don’t get me wrong. I really welcome new business in our neighborhood… just like that new pizza place. What a great place. But a tavern is totally different.”

What's notable is that the "new pizza place" praised by Mateo—Bar del Corso—is also a bar, as is the new, nearby El Quetzal.

Which brings us to today. From Slog Tipper Kathryn:

Hey guys, The Oak was denied a liquor license because they did not get enough letters of support! They got only FIVE. There were 77 favorable blog posts last I checked, but only five people actually sent letters!! Five in favor compared to 20+ against. Aaaargh! But it looks like there is still time. You must send via post, not email:

Washington State Liquor Control Board
Licensing and Regulation
P.O. Box 43098
Olympia, WA 98504-3098

concerning: The Oak
License #408904 3019 Beacon Ave S Seattle, WA 98144-5853

If you would appreciate another place to eat/drunk/hangout on Beacon Hill, please consider sending a letter of support to the Liquor Control Board. As you can read for yourself in the Beacon Hill Blog post, arguments against the place are specious. Letters need to land by March 26. Thanks.

UPDATE: Some corrections from Slog commenter litlnemo:

The Oak isn't going in where the Beacon Pub was, it's going in a bit north, in the former site of Sharon's Lutong Bahay restaurant. Also, the Oak hasn't yet been denied the liquor license, just notified that they are in danger of it. There were 14 letters against according to the LCB letter, not 20. Technically El Quetzal is not new — just the expanded bar they opened is. The Beacon Hill Blog has a new post up about this today with more details.